However, with the consideration paid for the ‘equity value’ of a business often being substantially different from the "enterprise value" initially agreed, completion mechanisms can become complex and subjective.

To address the lack of guidance in this area, in October 2016 the ICAEW's Corporate Finance Faculty issued a Best Practice Guideline, Completion Mechanisms – determining the final equity value in transactions.

Grant Thornton's SPA Advisory team have also produced the first ever large-scale survey on market trends in SPAs, drawing on the views of more than 150 deal principals and advisers.