European Business Group provides the professional services of an individual Principal Mentor on an ad hoc basis, depending upon the needs of the client.
A full range of services and scale of charges are available, with short-term and long-term contracts on a direct fixed cost and also on an exclusive basis, whereby the individual Principal Mentor will devote 100% of their time and energy to one specific client during the contract period.
EBG’s normal terms of business are for the potential client(s) to agree to retain EBG with the specific scale of charges agreed after the initial without-cost discussion(s), which are usually via telephone or Zoom/Teams video call.
It is a standard requirement that an agreed ‘retainer’ amount will be based on the client’s needs for EBG and the estimated time scale for providing the agreed services, with the agreed initial retainer amount paid in advance by the prospective client(s), from which EBG shall provide its services on the agreed hourly rate for said services, with the normal business model to be agreed in writing, to avoid any possible conflicts of interest.
The most important aspect which ALL potential client(s) MUST understand, is the need for EBG to remain, at all times ‘independent, impartial and unbiased’, in order for their provision of services to be accepted, and that accordingly, EBG does NOT enter into ANY form of a ‘No Win – No Fee’ or similar DBA/CFA agreement, all being based on some form of a successful outcome derived from the direct or indirect ‘suggestions’ or ‘reports’ prepared by EBG and/or its associated parties.
It is however, understood that in many cases, the ability for the potential client(s) to meet the standard hourly billed time amount(s), may be prohibitive, and prevent EBG from being able to make any form of ‘suggestions’ which would benefit, or might benefit a particular potential client.
EBG have therefore adopted what they are willing to consider as being fully compliant with the essential need to remain, at all times ‘independent, impartial and unbiased’, and still be able to agree what is essentially a direct ‘line of credit’ for their potential client(s).
This is achieved by the formal agreement which each potential client MUST enter into with EBG, having the gross hourly rate amount which varies from a minimum of £250.00 + VAT to £750.00 + VAT per billed hour, in the minimum of 6 minute intervals, unless otherwise stated.
The terms of instruction will however, agree that EBG shall at all times invoice their minimum hourly drawdown commercial rate of £75.00 + VAT on either the weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis with a ‘pro-forma’ invoice or fee note for the outstanding balance of the agreed gross hourly rate being held by EBG as a receivable, and which will, by mutual agreement be formally invoiced with the relevant VAT aspect then added, at a mutually agreed future date.
The stated ‘receivables’ are in effect a deferred payment amount or amount(s), which are ‘unsecured’, and if for whatever reason, are not ultimately paid, then EBG has no recourse to recover the amount(s), unless the client(s) are in a financial position to settle the outstanding amount(s).
EBG has of course the legal right to pursue the outstanding amount(s), if EBG is aware that the client(s) have received a financial benefit, from the use of the suggestions made by EBG to the client(s), but would as well, have the standard commercial overview, that it would not be prudent to pursue any form of recovery, if there was a limited to nil probability of a recovery.
In which case EBG would write off the receivable amount(s) as a ‘bad debt’, and there would no longer be any form of recovery or recourse, from the client(s).
It is a normal policy for EBG and the potential client(s) to agree to an initial fee cap amount, which may be increased or decreased by mutual written agreement, as it is almost impossible to determine or accurately estimate the actual time which EBG may need to spend on any particular client’s matters.
As the initial agreed retainer amount is also at an estimated value, based on the limited information and date provided by the client(s) during the initial without cost discussion(s), which are usually via telephone or Zoom/Teams video call, and as such, it is a normal expectation that as the initial agreed retainer amount has been drawn down by EBG, against their issued VAT invoice(s), reaches the agreed ‘top up’ level, that the client(s) will either choose to stop EBG from providing any further services and EBG shall close their account and cancel any pro-forma amount(s) unless otherwise agreed in writing, with any/all amendments or adjustments agreed as remaining open in the event that the suggestions to date allow the outstanding balance to be settled, within an agreed period.
It is also possible for the total retainer amount(s) to also be capped and for any further direct costs to be added to the deferred balance under the pro-forma receivable model, but that is ONLY agreed, after the client(s) affairs have reached a point where there is a high probability of the client(s) being able to settle same, and EBG are willing to take on the additional ‘risk’.
Each and every instruction is based on an individual assessment and EBG’s ability to consider its risk ratio exposure, of providing services on credit, which are always without any form of interest being added, as to do so would render the arrangement a potentially regulated event.