
Institutional Advisory
Independent Commercial Real Estate Advisory
Buyer looking for advice that is not attached to a transaction fee.
Scope and fees agreed before instruction
Before offer, exchange or commitment
What your independent purchase review can cover
Send a property you have found, its asking price, rent evidence and proposed finance. We agree the questions, evidence, fee and written deliverables before starting. This is a second opinion on the purchase decision — not a listing service, building survey or legal clearance.
Evidence and missing information
Check price and rent assumptions against comparable evidence; record what is supplied, unverified or still needed from the seller, surveyor, solicitor or lender.
Downside and cash commitment
Separate gross rent from net income. Include voids, repairs, management, compliance, acquisition costs and finance sensitivity; identify the cash buffer needed if assumptions weaken.
A written decision brief
Set out the risks, assumptions, questions before commitment and conditions that could change the conclusion. Your agreed scope defines the analysis, exclusions and decision options.
Bring the questions that could change your offer
- Single-let: does net income still work after voids, repairs and a refinance?
- HMO: are room rents, licence conditions, planning position and compliance costs evidenced?
- Commercial or mixed use: what do lease terms, tenant covenant, breaks, capex and vacancy imply?
- Portfolio: does this acquisition increase lender, location or tenant concentration?
- Overseas: are FX, source-of-funds, ownership and UK/home-country tax questions coordinated before commitment?
Scope first. Fee agreed. No promised return.
Fees depend on the asset, documents, complexity and depth of review. Request a written scope, fixed deliverables, exclusions and fee before instructing. Missing information can limit conclusions; a review cannot remove market risk or guarantee a successful purchase.
Solicitors handle legal diligence, surveyors assess condition, and appropriately qualified or authorised professionals provide tax and regulated financial or mortgage advice. We identify questions for those professionals, not replace them.
Key facts
- Advisory here means judgement on a decision — it is not agency, brokerage or introduction.
- We are not remunerated on completion, so a recommendation to decline costs us nothing.
- Every engagement ends in a written position, not a verbal steer.
- We work alongside your existing lawyers, valuers and tax advisers rather than replacing them.
- Where regulated advice is required, we say so and refer to a firm on the FCA register.
- Mandate scope, suitability, fees and specialist responsibilities are confirmed before instruction. No minimum capital threshold is published.
Most commercial property advice in the UK is paid for by the transaction happening. That is not a scandal, it is a business model — but it means the advice and the incentive point the same way. Independent advisory exists to give you the other reading, before the capital moves.
What does independent commercial real estate advisory actually mean?
It means the adviser is paid for the analysis, not for the deal completing. No agency fee, no lender panel, no introducer commission, no share of the transaction. The output is a written recommendation — proceed, proceed at a different price, or decline — with the reasoning attached.
How is it different from a buying agent or a broker?
A buying agent sources and secures assets and is paid when you buy. A broker is paid when a transaction closes. Both are useful and both are conflicted at the moment of decision. Independent advisory sits before that, and is the only party in the room with no reason to want a yes.
What do you produce at the end of an engagement?
A written position covering the income case, the covenant, the building and compliance exposure, the structure, and the exit — with the assumptions that would have to hold for the deal to work, and the specific circumstances under which it fails. It is written to be defended to an investment committee.
Who do you work alongside?
Your solicitors, valuers, building surveyors and tax advisers keep their roles. We do not duplicate them. Our job is to hold the whole picture and say what the assembled evidence means for the decision — which is usually nobody's formal remit on a deal.
Where independent advisory sits
| Role | Paid when | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| Selling agent | The asset sells | Is this a good asset? |
| Buying agent | You buy | Can we secure it? |
| Valuer | Report delivered | What is it worth today? |
| Solicitor | Completion or time | Is title and contract sound? |
| Independent advisory | The analysis | Should you commit this capital, at this price, now? |
How the review works
- 1
Scope
What decision is being made, by when, and what would change it.
- 2
Evidence
We work from your data room and independent sources, not vendor marketing.
- 3
Interrogation
The case is stress-tested against the conditions under which it fails.
- 4
Written position
A committee-ready recommendation with assumptions and failure conditions stated.
- 5
Follow-through
We stay available through negotiation and completion without a stake in the outcome.
Request a mandate review
Independent, fee-based and separate from any transaction. Tell us the decision and we will tell you what we would need to review it properly.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
Checked 13 August 2026. Tax and regulatory points on this page reflect published HMRC and GOV.UK guidance at the date shown. They are general information, not tax advice — confirm your position with a qualified UK tax adviser before committing capital.
Related reading
- Commercial Property Investment in the UKInstitutional or overseas capital assessing a UK commercial acquisition before committing.
- Property Investment ConsultancyCapital allocator looking for consultancy rather than transaction services.
- Student Accommodation Investment in the UKInstitutional buyer assessing UK PBSA before commitment.
- Build to Rent Investment in the UKInstitutional investor or developer assessing a UK BTR scheme.
