C03 · Capital & transactions
Acquisition advisory: buying property and land with the diligence done first
Buyers lose money on acquisition in two ways: paying too much, or discovering after signing what diligence would have found before. Both are process failures, and both are preventable at a fraction of the cost of the error.
- Side
- Buy-side only on any transaction
- Covers
- Sourcing, diligence, valuation, negotiation
- Discipline
- Walk-away price set before negotiation
- Coordinates
- Counsel, technical, tax advisers
Acquisition Advisory, in brief
Acquisition advisory represents the buyer in a property or land transaction: identifying and screening targets, running commercial due diligence, establishing a defensible value and a walk-away price, negotiating, and coordinating legal and technical diligence through to completion. The adviser acts for one side only, disclosed at the outset.
The walk-away price is the discipline
We set a walk-away price with the client before negotiation begins, in writing, with the reasoning attached. It is the single most effective protection against the dynamic that causes most overpayment: the momentum of a process in which time, fees and emotional commitment have already been invested.
Competitive processes are specifically designed to generate that momentum. A buyer who has agreed a ceiling in advance, on stated assumptions, can revise it deliberately when the assumptions change — which is different from revising it because the deal is slipping away.
Commercial diligence finds different things from legal diligence
Legal diligence establishes whether the seller can convey what they claim to own. Commercial diligence establishes whether it is worth what is being paid. They are different exercises and a buyer needs both.
Commercial diligence asks whether the entitlement assumption is defensible, whether the catchment can absorb what would be built, whether the cost base in the seller's model reflects current tendered rates, whether the timeline matches what the authority is currently taking, and whether comparable evidence supports the revenue assumption.
- Entitlement and buildable area, commercially tested
- Catchment absorption depth for the intended product
- Cost base against current rather than historic rates
- Approval timeline against the authority's current behaviour
- Revenue assumption against registered comparables
- Physical constraints: access, levels, services, encroachment
Off-market sourcing
The best-priced acquisitions in Mumbai are rarely the ones being marketed. They come from situations: a partnership dissolving, a developer needing liquidity, an estate being settled, a fund at the end of its life.
Access to those situations is a function of relationships and discretion rather than of search. We source off-market where we can, and we are clear that it is a slower and less predictable route than a marketed process — it is a complement to one, not a substitute.
Scope
What the engagement covers.
- 01Acquisition mandate and criteria definition
- 02Target identification, including off-market
- 03Preliminary screening and shortlisting
- 04Commercial due diligence
- 05Residual and comparable valuation
- 06Negotiation strategy and walk-away price
- 07Legal and technical diligence coordination
- 08Structure and tax-efficiency coordination
- 09Documentation support to completion
- 10Post-acquisition transition planning
Deliverables
What you receive.
Acquisition criteria
Asset class, geography, ticket range, return objective and deal-breakers, documented so screening is consistent.
Screened target list
Marketed and off-market targets, with the reason each was shortlisted or rejected recorded.
Commercial diligence report
Entitlement, absorption, cost, timeline and revenue assumptions tested, with what counsel must confirm flagged.
Valuation and walk-away price
A defensible value with sensitivities, and a written ceiling agreed before negotiation begins.
Transaction coordination
Negotiation, diligence management across counsel and technical advisers, and documentation support to completion.
Method
How we run it.
Four stages, each with a defined output. Nothing proceeds on momentum.
- 01
Define the criteria
What you are buying and why, including the deal-breakers, before any target is considered.
- 02
Source and screen
Marketed and off-market origination, then rejection of most of it against the criteria.
- 03
Diligence and value
Commercial diligence, residual valuation, and a written walk-away price with its assumptions stated.
- 04
Negotiate and complete
Negotiation, coordinated legal and technical diligence, documentation and completion.
Outcomes
What changes.
- A written walk-away price that survives the momentum of a process
- Commercial diligence alongside legal, not instead of it
- Access to situations that are not being marketed
- Assumptions in the seller's model independently tested
- One adviser acting for one side, disclosed
Questions
Acquisition Advisory: frequently asked.
Do you represent buyers and sellers on the same asset?
No. We act for one side on any transaction and we disclose which at the outset. Dual representation on a negotiated transaction is a conflict, not an efficiency.
Do you charge a success fee on acquisitions?
Fee structures are agreed up front and disclosed. Where a success fee applies we are explicit about it, because a buy-side adviser paid only on completion has an incentive the client should be able to see and price.
Can you review a transaction we have already agreed?
Yes, if it is not yet binding. A short pre-signature commercial review frequently identifies assumptions worth renegotiating, and occasionally identifies a reason not to proceed. After signature the options narrow considerably.
Related capabilities
- Land AdvisorySite identification, aggregation, title and entitlement assessment, valuation and monetisation — on both the buy and sell side.
- Investment AdvisoryIndependent underwriting of real estate opportunities — entry price, exit liquidity, structure and what could go wrong.
- Feasibility & Highest-Best-UseDevelopment potential, market-derived revenue, real cost base, cash flow and sensitivities — with the downside stated.
- Transaction ManagementCoordination of diligence, conditions, advisers and documentation so a signed deal actually completes.
- Capital & Partnership AdvisoryCapital structure, partner identification and term sheet negotiation — sized to a launch plan the market has validated.
- Market IntelligenceMicro-market evidence — absorption, registered transactions, supply pipeline, pricing — scored on a consistent framework.
Acquisition Advisory
Bring us the decision, not the deadline.
The earlier we are involved, the more value there is to protect. Tell us where the project stands and we will tell you what we think.