Corporate Strategy
Strategy resets, portfolio choices and three-year plans built with your executive team.
Scoped in weeks, staffed by principals, and governed like a board paper: problem, evidence, options, recommendation.
Services
Advisory built for the decisions only a board can make
Eight practices covering strategy, markets, transactions and governance — led by operators, scoped in weeks, and priced before we start. Each practice page below states what the engagement covers, how it is scoped, and what the board receives at the end.
Services
Eight practices. One accountable partner on each.
Every practice below is led by an advisor with at least twenty years running the thing they now advise on. Engagements are fixed-scope, fixed-fee and closed with recommendations that carry owners and dates.
International Market Entry
Evidence-led entry into the EU, US or Gulf — scored on six dimensions before capital commits.
Scoped in weeks, staffed by principals, and governed like a board paper: problem, evidence, options, recommendation.
Board Advisory
Effectiveness reviews, agenda design and independent counsel in the rhythm of your board.
Scoped in weeks, staffed by principals, and governed like a board paper: problem, evidence, options, recommendation.
M&A Support
Independent diligence, valuation sense-checks and negotiation support for £10–150m deals.
Scoped in weeks, staffed by principals, and governed like a board paper: problem, evidence, options, recommendation.
Risk & Governance
Risk registers boards actually use, and governance architecture that scales with you.
Scoped in weeks, staffed by principals, and governed like a board paper: problem, evidence, options, recommendation.
Growth & Transformation
Commercial diagnostics and operating model redesign — sequenced so you never fund two models at once.
Scoped in weeks, staffed by principals, and governed like a board paper: problem, evidence, options, recommendation.
Digital & AI Advisory
Practical AI adoption and systems consolidation, negotiated from the buy side.
Scoped in weeks, staffed by principals, and governed like a board paper: problem, evidence, options, recommendation.
Sustainability & ESG
The disclosures your customers and lenders actually request — evidence first, nothing theatrical.
Scoped in weeks, staffed by principals, and governed like a board paper: problem, evidence, options, recommendation.
How engagements run
The shape of a mandate
Most mandates move through four movements. Diagnosis (one to two weeks): interviews with the executive team, a read of the numbers, and a written problem statement the board signs off before any advice is given. Evidence (two to four weeks): market, customer and financial analysis proportionate to the decision — enough rigour to be defensible, never research for its own sake.
Decision (one week): options with trade-offs made explicit, a recommendation, and the dissenting view written down where we disagree with management. Delivery (scoped separately): implementation support at a rhythm the board chooses — usually a standing monthly session until the governing metric moves.
Between movements there are no surprises: a single partner to call, a weekly one-page note, and fees that were agreed before we started. Where a decision needs legal, tax or regulated advice we coordinate with your existing advisers — our role remains strategy, markets and governance.
Services FAQ
Scoping, fees and fit
Scoping
Can we start with a single question instead of a full mandate?
Yes. Roughly a third of engagements begin as a two-week structured second opinion on a plan, deal or board paper. If the answer leads to more work, the fee is credited against the larger mandate.
What do you need from us to scope properly?
Access to two or three executives, your last two years of management accounts, and honesty about what has already been tried. Scoping usually completes in ten working days.
Do you work alongside our existing advisers?
Constantly. We coordinate with corporate financiers, lawyers and auditors as one team. Where a task needs their regulated advice, they do it — we never blur that line.
Fees
What does a typical mandate cost?
Most fixed-scope mandates land between £25,000 and £90,000 depending on breadth and travel. Retained board advisory starts from £3,500 per month. Every figure is agreed in writing before work begins.
Do you charge for the first conversation?
No. The first forty minutes are free and candid — including when we tell you the problem is not ours to solve.
Are expenses billed separately?
At cost, with receipts, capped in the engagement letter. Travel outside the UK is pre-approved in writing.
Fit
Are you a good fit for very early-stage companies?
Usually not — our counsel is calibrated for established boards with revenue. Below £5m revenue we will say so and point you to advisers built for that stage.
Do you work with public sector or charities?
Selectively, where governance questions rather than commercial strategy drive the mandate. Conflicts are checked before any acceptance.
Will you decline work?
Yes. We decline where independence is compromised, where we lack genuine sector depth, or where the honest answer is that the board already knows what to do.
Next step
Bring us the decision, not the brief
The most useful first conversation starts with the decision the board cannot close. We will tell you within the hour whether we are the right firm for it.
Book a consultation