Governance

Decisions of consequence at this firm are made by committee, recorded, and capable of being reviewed. The structure is set out below because a client is entitled to know who decides what, and because a firm that cannot describe its own governance should not be trusted with a client's largest asset.

The mandate acceptance committee clears conflicts, applies the criteria at The mandates we decline, and approves or refuses every engagement. No mandate may be accepted on the authority of an individual.

The valuation and opinion committee reviews every valuation analysis and every recommendation to a client to accept, reject or counter an offer. Its function is to ensure that advice given to a client reflects the firm's view rather than a deal team's momentum.

The risk and compliance committee is responsible for the regulatory perimeter, anti-money-laundering procedure, data protection, and the firm's conflicts register. It has the authority to halt a live transaction and does not require the agreement of the deal team to do so.

The partnership committee is responsible for standards of work, admission and promotion, and the annual review of the principles set out on this website.

Every mandate proceeds through eleven defined stages, each requiring documented approval before the next may begin. No information memorandum is released, no buyer approached, and no agreement signed without the approval required at that stage. The gates exist to make a process auditable after the fact, which is the only way a standard survives commercial pressure.