We put lost profit into evidence.
Independent forensic accounting expert witnesses for loss of profits claims: breach of contract, business interruption, IP infringement and commercial disputes before the courts of England & Wales.
- CPR Part 35 reports
- High Court and Commercial Court
- Arbitration
Loss of Profits Expert is a London-based forensic accounting and financial expert witness practice. We specialise in quantifying loss of profits for commercial disputes, business interruption, breach of contract, intellectual property infringement and professional negligence, with reports prepared to CPR Part 35 for proceedings in England and Wales.
Six loss of profits services
Exclusive focus on quantifying commercial profit loss, for solicitors, counsel and instructing parties in England and Wales.
Loss of Profits Quantification
Independent expert quantification of commercial profit loss using counterfactual analysis and court-standard financial modelling.
Business Interruption Loss
Expert quantification of insured and uninsured business interruption, gross profit, increased costs of working, and period of indemnity.
Breach of Contract Loss
Lost profits from terminated or anticipated contracts, expectation loss, reliance loss, and wasted expenditure.
IP Infringement Loss
Lost profits and reasonable royalty analysis for patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret infringement.
Professional Negligence: Lost Profits
Lost business profits arising from negligent professional advice, legal, financial, surveying, and advisory.
Litigation Support & Advisory
Advisory support throughout commercial litigation: reviewing opposing analyses, methodology critique, and counsel preparation.
Where losses arise
Every claim starts with an interrupted business.
The counterfactual depends on what stopped the business earning. These are the contexts our experts quantify most often.
Business interruption
Flood, fire and closure: lost trading against a counterfactual.
Breach of contract
Failed supply and lost orders across the contract period.
IP infringement
Diverted sales, price erosion and lost licence income.
Construction and delay
Lost profit on delayed or abandoned projects.
Supply chain and stock
Inventory, margin and the cost of lost capacity.
Professional negligence
Profits lost because advice or a transaction went wrong.
Why profit loss is complex.
Quantifying lost profits is not estimation. It is forensic reconstruction of a commercial counterfactual.
How we model the loss
Methodology selection is the foundation of a defensible expert report. The right approach depends on the data available and the nature of the claim.
| Methodology | When applied |
|---|---|
| Before & After | Established business with pre-event trading history |
| Yardstick / Comparable | When claimant's own data is unavailable or unreliable |
| Discounted Cash Flow | Long-duration loss claims, projected future profits |
| Incremental Analysis | Specific contract losses |
| Market Share | Industry-wide market data available |
The counterfactual, drawn
Since Playfair first charted trade in 1786, the question has been the same: where would the line have gone?
From brief to report
Brief
We review the instruction, claim type, forum and available financial records.
Expert
We match a loss of profits expert to the claim type, court or tribunal, and methodological requirements.
Scope
We provide a written scope and fee proposal before any substantive work begins.
Delivery
Expert report prepared to CPR Part 35, or to the procedural standard required by the relevant tribunal.
Courts and tribunals
Principal instructions are in England and Wales. We also prepare reports for UK arbitration and, where required, for overseas forums.
Loss of profits: common questions
- Do you prepare CPR Part 35 reports for England and Wales?
- Yes. Loss of Profits Expert is a London practice. Expert reports for proceedings in England and Wales are prepared to CPR Part 35 and Practice Direction 35. The expert's overriding duty is to the court. We also prepare reports for Scotland and Northern Ireland where the applicable procedural rules require it.
- What is the before and after method for loss of profits?
- The before and after method (also called the before and after approach) is a loss of profits quantification methodology that compares the financial performance of a business before the event that caused the loss with its performance after the event. The difference in revenue or profit: adjusted for non-event factors, represents the loss. It is most commonly used where the claimant has a reliable pre-event trading history.
- What is the yardstick method for loss of profits?
- The yardstick method (also called the comparable business method) quantifies loss of profits by reference to the financial performance of a comparable business, one that was not affected by the event that caused the claimant's loss. It is particularly useful where the claimant is a new business without an established trading history, or where pre-event records are unavailable or unreliable.
- How is business interruption loss of gross profit calculated?
- Business interruption loss of gross profit is calculated using the gross profit rate, the ratio of gross profit to turnover in the period before the interruption, applied to the shortfall in turnover during the period of indemnity. The gross profit rate is derived from the business's historical financial statements. Increased costs of working incurred to mitigate the loss are added, subject to the policy's provisions.
- How are lost profits calculated in a patent infringement case?
- In patent infringement cases, lost profits are calculated by asking what the patent holder would have earned but for the infringement. This typically requires establishing: (1) demand for the patented product; (2) absence of acceptable non-infringing alternatives; (3) the claimant's capacity to exploit that demand; and (4) the profit that would have been made. Where actual lost profits cannot be established, a reasonable royalty analysis provides an alternative measure.
- Can you provide a loss of profits expert for ICC arbitration?
- Yes. Loss of Profits Expert provides independent expert witnesses for ICC international arbitration proceedings. Expert reports are prepared in accordance with ICC Rules of Arbitration and the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration. Our experts are experienced in producing reports for international arbitration that meet the evidentiary standards and procedural requirements of the ICC and other international arbitration institutions.
Q.01
Q.02
Q.03
Q.04
Q.05
Q.06