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TN/AUD/07
Edition 2027 · effective 1 January 2027

For investors, lenders & funds

Conflict destroys value long before it reaches a court.

Portfolio founders fall out, JV partners deadlock, earn-outs are disputed, borrowers struggle. Neutral capability protects value at the moment it is most at risk, and quietly.

Frame your questionRequest an evaluation

§ 01What you really need

Five needs, in your words.

Drawn from how people in your position actually describe the problem, not from procedure.

(Needs)

Value protection

Act before conflict damages the asset.

Speed

Decisions on the timeline of the investment.

Discretion

No public disputes with portfolio companies.

Independent numbers

Valuations and determinations that settle questions.

Portfolio-wide approach

One Neutral programme across holdings.

What usually goes wrong: using control rights first and conversation later; letting valuation questions go to court; ignoring founder conflict until a down round.

(Avoid)

Frame your question Commissioning guides

§ 02The cost of waiting

What the evidence says.

Sourced and dated. Use the calculator to estimate your own.

US$102bn

Record value of new ICC cases in 2024: 841 cases, 2,392 parties from 136 jurisdictions.

ICC Dispute Resolution Statistics 2024, via Global Legal Post · 2024 ↗
60–70%

Commercial mediations that settle on the day, with a further ~20% settling in the following weeks.

CEDR, Mediation success rate · 2024 ↗

Estimate what a conflict is costing you →

§ 03Evaluation for you

9 questions people in your position bring to an evaluator.

A major strategic decision01Strategy & board decisionsClarity DeepView™On the evidence available, does this proposal achieve what it claims, and what would have to be true for it to fail?A decision insiders cannot take cleanly02Strategy & board decisionsClarity DeepView™Is this related-party or conflicted proposal fair to those who are not conflicted?Testing an investment thesis03Transactions & investmentClarity DeepView™Does the evidence support the investment thesis, and where is it weakest?A valuation people dispute04Transactions & investmentClarity DeepView™What is a fair value range for this asset or interest, on agreed assumptions?Earn-out and completion accounts05Transactions & investmentEarly Neutral EvaluationHave the earn-out or completion accounts been calculated according to the agreement?Joint venture or partnership health check06Transactions & investmentStanding EvaluatorIs this partnership delivering what the partners intended, and what is getting in the way?Major project health check07Projects & operationsEvaluation PanelWill this project deliver its scope, on what timeline and at what cost, on the evidence today?An insurance coverage question08Differences & disputesEarly Neutral EvaluationDoes the policy respond to this loss, and to what extent?A shareholder or partner difference09Differences & disputesEarly Neutral EvaluationWhose reading of the agreement is right, and what are the realistic ways out?

§ 04Situations you may face

10 situations where a Neutral helps.

Shareholder deadlock01Ownership & businessNeutral Evaluation · Mediation · Neutral ChairingThe company still needs decisions. The shareholders cannot make them together.Founder conflict02Ownership & businessMediation · FacilitationThe founders built it together. Now they want different companies.Joint venture under strain03Ownership & businessStanding Neutral · Mediation · Neutral EvaluationTwo partners built one venture. Their parent companies now want different things from it.Valuation and earn-out04Ownership & businessExpert Determination · Neutral Evaluation · MediationThe deal closed. The number that was supposed to settle later did not.After the acquisition05Ownership & businessFacilitation · Neutral EvaluationThe integration plan met real people. Two cultures now share one company.Founder and investor tension06Boards & governanceFacilitation · Neutral Chairing · MediationThe investors want a plan. The founder wants to run the company.A live project under strain07Projects & contractsDispute Board · Standing Neutral · Neutral EvaluationThe project must keep moving. The people delivering it have stopped trusting each other.Insurance coverage question08Projects & contractsNeutral Evaluation · MediationA loss happened. Whether the policy responds is now the question.Public–private project interface09Community & public lifeStanding Neutral · Dispute Board · Neutral EvaluationA public authority and a private partner share a project, and different accountabilities.Technology, data and AI licensing10Cross-borderExpert Determination · Neutral Evaluation · MediationCode, data or a model was licensed. Now the parties disagree about what it may be used for.

§ 05Roles that fit

The Neutral roles people like you use most.

  1. Neutral EvaluationWhat does an independent professional think of this question?01
  2. Expert DeterminationWho settles this defined question, quickly and finally?02
  3. MediationCan we reach an agreement we both choose?03

§ 06How we can help

Evaluation services for people in your position.

Fixed quote after scope review, or staged for complex matters

Clarity DeepView™

A full Independent Neutral Evaluation™ with the twelve-part report of the Handbook (NP 6.3): mandate, evidence, issue-by-issue analysis, risk and uncertainty, calibrated conclusions and stated limitations. Sold against a specific question and deliverable, not a template.

Fixed quote after conflict and scope review

Clarity Snapshot™

A short, reasoned written view on a single, precisely framed question, within tight limits agreed at scope review: a small document set, no interviews and no findings of fact on contested evidence. It is not a substitute for a full evaluation, an investigation or regulated specialist work.

Annual retainer plus Snapshots as used

Standing Evaluator

A qualified evaluator appointed at the start of a relationship, kept informed, and available to give an independent view whenever a question arises. Activation rules, response times and information access are written into the agreement.

First stepsFor investors, lenders & funds
Three thingsto do this week.
01 Add Neutral clauses to investment and loan documents
02 Offer founders access to facilitation early
03 Use expert determination for valuations
Clarity first · keep options open · make fairness visible

§ 07Frame your question

Describe it. Get the evaluation question.

Written for investors, lenders & funds. Leave out names and confidential details.

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The answer

Choose who you are and ask anything. The engine answers from the institution’s own guidance, in plain language.

§ 08Read next

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