Project development and management

Before a company commits time or capital to a new market, it needs a plain reading of what is actually there. We assess the commercial conditions, the institutional setting, the competitive position of local and international players, and the practical requirements of operating in the country.

The work is descriptive rather than promotional. It can include reviewing how comparable projects have been procured, who holds the decision-making authority, what approvals apply, and what a realistic entry timeline looks like.

The result is an assessment the company can use internally to decide whether to proceed, and on what terms.

We identify public and private projects before they reach a standard sales process, and locate operating companies, industrial sites, land, concessions and strategic assets that partners can acquire, finance or develop.

This can include following published development plans and budget programmes, maintaining contact with regional authorities and project owners, and reviewing assets that are being restructured or brought to market quietly.

Each opportunity is described with its current stage, who controls it, and what would need to happen before it can be properly assessed.

We arrange and manage contact with governments, ministries, local authorities, state-owned companies and other public institutions, and prepare the material each meeting requires.

This can include arranging an initial meeting with a provincial economic development authority, preparing a project briefing for a ministry, coordinating a site visit for an official delegation, or setting out the sequence of approvals a project will need.

We also make sure each side understands what is expected next, so momentum is not lost between meetings.

We help Asian companies establish in Europe and European companies build a working presence in Asia. The work covers the practical mechanics of being present in a market rather than simply selling into it.

This can include local company structures, office and site identification, adviser and professional service selection, hiring routes for a first local team, and the initial commercial plan for the entity.

Where a partner is required rather than a subsidiary, we run the partner search and the early relationship on the same basis.

We identify suitable partners, contractors, equipment suppliers and technology providers for the specific project rather than from a general list.

Selection considers technical capability, relevant delivered experience, financial standing, ability to work within the local regulatory environment, and willingness to accept the responsibilities the project structure requires.

We manage the introduction, the exchange of preliminary information and the route toward technical and commercial evaluation.

We coordinate engineering, procurement and construction groups through the period before contracts exist, when the scope is still being defined.

This can include setting out a preliminary technical scope, identifying local requirements and standards that will affect design, clarifying which responsibilities sit with the owner and which with the contractor, and organising technical exchanges between the parties.

The purpose is to reach a scope that can be priced and evaluated seriously, rather than an indicative figure that collapses under review.

We help prepare projects for discussion with strategic investors, banks, institutional capital and financial groups.

The work involves assembling a coherent project structure — ownership, revenue basis, responsibilities, approval path, implementation plan — and coordinating the parties who may provide capital, including managing the order and pace of those discussions.

Northbridge does not present itself as a bank and does not promise financing. Our role is to help form a credible project and coordinate the parties who may fund it.

We help partners identify companies, assets and projects that may be acquired or developed through a joint venture.

This can include preliminary assessment of the target, introductions to the owners, discussion of ownership and control, local coordination, and preparation of the material required before formal due diligence begins.

We stay involved through that process so questions raised by advisers are answered by the right party rather than left open.

Projects with several parties fail on unclear responsibility more often than on technical difficulty. We set up and maintain the governance that keeps a project legible to everyone involved.

This can include an agreed decision-making structure, a recorded set of responsibilities, regular working meetings with documented outcomes, and a controlled process for sharing project information between parties.

Decisions are recorded. Responsibilities stay clear. Problems are raised early rather than at the point they become expensive.

We remain involved after the introduction and through delivery, coordinating advisers, authorities, investors, contractors, suppliers and local teams.

This can include tracking the approval sequence, managing the interface between contractor and authority, preparing for mobilisation, and maintaining the reporting that owners and investors require.

Our involvement can be continuous or limited to the stages where coordination between parties is the main risk.