What do you mean by an unconflicted outside view?

It means independent counsel from senior principals with zero financial or political stake in your choice. Our position comes from having built none of the original plans, carrying no internal politics, and selling no downstream implementation programmes. Free from fee incentives or organisational noise, we ask the uncomfortable questions and say what those closer to the decision cannot.

How is this different from management consultancy?

Across every engagement, we operate as close-contact partners. Our work differs from typical management consultancy in four distinct ways:

• Seniority: You work exclusively with principals who have had their own capital at risk, never junior analysts learning at your expense.

• Methodology: We bring no pre-packaged framework or house methodology; the specific situation dictates the work.

• Deliverables: You receive concise, direct counsel in person and in writing, not a stack of PowerPoint slides or a ‘transformation’ proposal.

• Independence: We have no long-term change programmes, software rollouts, or restructuring services to sell you afterward, meaning we have zero incentive to prolong a decision-specific engagement.

Is this transformation consultancy?

No. Most transformation programmes fail not during delivery, but because the core rationale behind them was never properly stress-tested in the first place. We work exclusively on the strategic framing and high-stakes decisions that come before implementation begins. Better questions lead to better decisions, which in turn means more effective leadership, often eliminating the need for expensive, disruptive transformation programmes altogether.

Why shouldn't we just rely on our board or existing advisers?

Both are vital, but both sit inside the situation you are evaluating. Board members share ultimate responsibility for outcomes and naturally lean toward consensus. Traditional advisers are often financially rewarded when a deal completes or when follow-on execution work is generated. Carrying no internal politics and selling no implementation programmes allows us to act as a truly unconflicted sounding board alongside your existing team.

Have you made these kinds of decisions before?

Yes. Our practice was founded by Carlo Navato, a Chartered Surveyor who has spent the last four decades making these exact decisions as a principal with his own capital on the line. Throughout his career, he has served as direct adviser to family office principals, boards, and leadership teams on high-stakes, hard-to-reverse decisions. He understands the unique pressure of sitting on both sides of the table.

What specific types of decisions do you work on?

We focus on high-pressure, hard-to-reverse choices that have no obvious or textbook answer. Typically, these are strategic and leadership decisions that occur at major inflection points:

• Entering or exiting a market.

• Succession, ownership changes, or leadership restructuring.

• Stalled projects, complex development joint ventures, or fractured multi-stakeholder alignments.

• Mergers, acquisitions, or long-term capital allocations.

Do you specialise in our specific sector?

We specialise in the structure of decisions, not individual industry verticals. This allows us to bring cross-domain insights that sector silos naturally miss. Our process and judgment were forged across the complex, multi-disciplinary environment of real estate development encompassing law, politics, structured finance, planning governance, capital delivery, and multi-stakeholder partnerships, where a failure in any single domain compromises the entire outcome. Where a decision requires hyper-specific technical knowledge, we bring in external world-class domain specialists to work alongside us.

Why do you draw on art, craft and anthropology?

Most consequential decisions fail because something important wasn't seen, not because the analysis was wrong. Organisations grow familiar with their own situation, and familiarity with their working practices narrows what anyone notices. Artists, craftsmen and anthropologists are trained to work against this. Our work makes the familiar strange, and the strange familiar: a practice of looking at what is actually there rather than what everyone assumes is there. We use these disciplines, among others, to widen the view before decision science sharpens it.

Do you manage change implementation or execution programmes?

No, and that is a deliberate boundary. We focus exclusively on pre-commitment decisions; implementation belongs entirely to the internal team that must live with the outcomes. Furthermore, advisers who also execute change programmes carry a structural financial incentive to recommend whatever model is most lucrative. We have no such conflict. However, by arrangement, we remain available as ongoing counsel to leadership throughout execution.

What happens if we don't agree with your advice?

You may not, but you will be completely clear on our reasoning. The point of an unconflicted view is to stress-test your thinking before you commit capital, time or reputation. What you do with our assessment is entirely your choice. We are not commissioned to win an argument, and our fee remains the same regardless of your final path.

How long does an engagement take?

As long as the decision requires and no longer. Because we do not bill by open-ended hourly rates, we have no incentive to prolong the work. Pre-Commitment Review engagements typically take weeks to a few months, but we have completed urgent interventions in 48 hours. All our work is bespoke and dependent upon project dynamics and requirements.

What is your fee structure?

All of our work is bespoke and our charges vary based upon scope and complexity. Our fees will be agreed with you and fixed in advance of engagement. As an indication our Pre-Commitment Review work typically starts from £18,500 + VAT incrementally increasing, with Special Situations Interventions from £75,000 + VAT. We would be pleased to discuss your specific requirements and tailor how we can help accordingly.