The Challenge
The problem we see is organisations committing to decisions without fully understanding the commercial and risk consequences:
Legal, commercial, and procurement decisions are made in silos
Transactions proceed without clearly defined success criteria
Negotiations occur under time pressure without a structured strategy
Governance is applied after decisions, not before them
The result is avoidable risk, slower decisions and sub‑optimal outcomes, even where contracts appear sound.
Our Solutions
Sound governance and disciplined execution are competitive advantages. We help organisations make decisions with clarity, control risk early, and deliver outcomes under pressure by doing the following:
Control risk early
Translate legal complexity into commercial clarity
Structure negotiations and procurement deliberately
Deliver outcomes under pressure
Our role is not to add process, but to bring clarity and judgement where complexity threatens value.
The examples below draws on work undertaken by Robert Yu in senior in‑house and advisory roles and illustrate how Accordum Advisory now supports clients.
Managing risk and value in a public divestment
A government landowner was exiting a long‑running urban regeneration partnership involving significant existing obligations, residual risks that could not be fully transferred, and new legislation affecting both past and future aspects of the development. Working in an embedded legal and commercial role, we focused on developing a deep understanding of the development history, points of contention and negotiation pressure, allowing key legal and structural issues to be addressed upfront and a clear commercial position to be formed on retained risk. Despite regulatory complexity and extreme time pressure in a fully virtual environment, the divestment was completed within weeks, with negotiations progressing decisively and outcomes preserved in circumstances where a reactive or fragmented approach would not have succeeded.
Structuring a long‑term acquisition to protect value and viability
A government landowner was acquiring a large greenfield estate following multiple unsuccessful sale attempts, where significant upfront investment placed pressure on price and long‑term viability depended heavily on deal structure. We worked across legal and commercial considerations to align the seller’s financial drivers with the proposed development program, resulting in a staged acquisition model that matched cash flow with delivery over time. Particular care was taken to structure the transaction so that critical land tax treatment was preserved, where an inappropriate structure would have triggered substantial additional cost and undermined feasibility. The final structure reduced financial risk, delivered material savings, and supported delivery over the life of the project.
Building commercial judgement across negotiation and delivery
Delivery teams were routinely negotiating and managing contracts during live project delivery without fully appreciating how day‑to‑day conduct, discussions and informal compromises could alter risk positions over time. We designed and delivered practical training focused on commonly negotiated terms and operational commitments, why they are pushed, and how both contractual concessions and delivery‑phase behaviour can waive rights or create unintended obligations. Using real scenarios and contracts, the sessions prompted teams to work through issues before explaining the legal and commercial consequences and how similar situations had played out in practice. This approach improved judgement rather than imposing rules, leading teams to be more mindful in negotiations and during delivery, engage legal earlier when issues surfaced, and actively factor legal risk into commercial decision‑making. Over time, this reduced avoidable disputes, improved delivery outcomes, and strengthened internal capability to manage issues with confidence.