Boutique · Senior-led · No pyramid
Strategy delivered by the people who designed it.
Independent strategy consulting for mid-market companies — operating model, M&A, and transformation programs.
- 20++
- Years in practice
- $4.2B
- Transactions advised
- 60++
- Engagements
- 12
- Industries
Where we act
Strategic advisory
Board offsites, market entry, repositioning. The questions that decide the next three years.
- Board strategy offsites
- Market entry sequencing
- Repositioning + pricing
- Portfolio rationalisation
M&A counsel
Buy-side and sell-side guidance from thesis through close. We sit on your side of the table only.
- Acquisition thesis + screening
- Commercial diligence
- Sell-side preparation
- Post-close integration
Governance
Charter design, audit, and committee structure for boards that want to work rather than perform.
- Board + committee charters
- Audit remediation
- Reporting cadence
- Succession planning
Regulated-industry counsel
For sectors where the strategy question and the compliance question are the same question.
- Licensing strategy
- Regulatory readiness reviews
- Supervisory engagement
- Remediation programmes
A quieter way to operate
We bring measured, board-ready counsel without the noise of a large firm. Senior partners on every engagement. No layered teams. No surprise invoices.
- Direct access to senior partners
- Fixed-fee scopes, transparent timelines
- Discretion as a default
Clear shape from the first call to the last memo.
Discovery call
30 minutes, no charge. We hear the problem, decide whether the fit is right, and outline a scope.
Written engagement letter
Fixed-fee or capped scope, plainly worded. You sign once; we both refer back to it.
Diagnostic + recommendation
Two to four weeks of work. You get a written report and a working session to walk through it.
Implementation support
Optional. We stay on 30–90 days helping the team execute, on a clearly scoped retainer.
Work that moved the number.
A selection of recent engagements, anonymised where required.
Market re-entry for a mid-market industrial
Chicago2025Sell-side counsel through a contested close
London2024Governance rebuild after a failed audit
Singapore2023
Indicative engagement fees
Published because "fixed-fee scopes" is meaningless without a number beside it. Every engagement letter names the actual figure before any work begins.
Diagnostics
- Introductory call30 minFree
- Focused diagnostic4 weeksfrom $28,000
- Full strategic diagnostic6–8 weeksfrom $65,000
- Board readiness review3 weeksfrom $18,000
Transactions
- Commercial diligencefrom $85,000
By target complexity
- Sell-side preparationfrom $110,000
- Transaction counsel through closeCapped fee
Cap agreed before diligence
- Success feeNone
We are never paid on the deal closing
Ongoing
- Implementation supportPer monthfrom $22,000
- Advisory retainerPer monthfrom $12,000
Capped hours, rolls nowhere
- Board attendancefrom $6,500
Per meeting, papers included
- Travel + disbursementsAt cost
Approved above $1,000
No success fees and no percentage of transaction value, on any engagement. Being paid the same whether a deal closes or not is what makes the advice to walk away possible.
Counsel worth paying for.
“The most useful outside counsel we have ever engaged. Calm, precise, and bracingly direct.”
Before you reach out
How are fees structured?+
Fixed-fee for defined engagements; capped time-and-materials for advisory retainers. Never hourly billing without a cap.
What size of organisation do you work with?+
Most engagements are with companies between $5M and $500M in revenue. We turn down work where we cannot meaningfully move the needle.
How long is a typical engagement?+
Diagnostics: 4–6 weeks. Strategy work: 8–12 weeks. Long-term advisory: 6–12 months on a defined retainer.
Do you sign NDAs?+
Routinely. We are bound by professional confidentiality even without one, but we are happy to execute your standard NDA.
Will you work in person?+
For kickoffs, key working sessions, and final readouts — yes. Day-to-day work is remote; we are on-site as often as the engagement warrants.
What sectors do you cover?+
Financial services, professional services, mid-market industrial. We avoid sectors where we cannot bring real depth.
Can we speak to a reference?+
Yes, at the point where an engagement is genuinely likely — we ask clients before we hand out their number rather than after. References are matched to your situation, not to our best result.
Do you take success fees?+
Never, on any engagement. Being paid identically whether a transaction closes or not is the only thing that makes "you should walk away from this" a sentence we can afford to say.
Who actually does the work?+
The partner you meet. There is no analyst pyramid here, which is why we take on fewer engagements than we are asked to and turn down the ones we cannot staff properly.
A 30-minute call costs nothing.
See if we're the right fit before either of us commits. No deck, no follow-up sequence — just a candid conversation.
Get in touch
We respond personally within one business day.
- Phone+1 (212) 555-0167
- Emailinquiries@meridian-advisory.com
- Address380 Madison Avenue, Floor 14, New York NY 10017