Magnum GSIGeoscientific due diligence reporting
Independent ground-related due diligence for property and infrastructure transactions, lending and planning commitments: what is known and not known about a site's ground, what liabilities and abnormal costs it may carry, and whether the existing reports can be relied on.
Why appoint us
Ground risk, in the time a transaction allows
Contamination, mining legacy, flooding and unstable ground rarely show in a valuation, and a seller's desk study from 2009 is not evidence of anything today. Due diligence is the point at which these become price, conditions or a decision to walk away. The review has to be quick, independent and clear about its own limits.
Agreed at the outset, so the work fits the exchange timetable and the budget is known before it starts.
Findings reported as risks, costs and conditions as well as technical conclusions, so they can go straight into negotiations and board papers.
The report says plainly what was reviewed, what was not available and what that means for the conclusions. Nothing is implied that the evidence does not support.
What we provide
Buy side, sell side and everything in between
Pre-acquisition due diligence
A rapid, structured review of the available data: GeoScreen™ screening as a first pass, audit of existing desk studies and investigation reports, regulatory and mining searches, and a site walkover where access allows. The output is a risk register with a red, amber and green summary, indicative abnormal cost allowances and the further work needed before commitment.
Vendor due diligence
A ground conditions pack assembled for a sale or lease that sets out the site's geology, history, contamination status and investigation record in a form that stands up to a buyer's scrutiny and reduces last-minute queries.
Review of third-party reports
Independent review of desk studies, ground investigation reports, risk assessments, remediation strategies and verification reports, to confirm whether they are adequate for the purpose they are being relied on for, and what is missing if not.
Portfolio screening
Consistent screening of many sites at once using GeoScreen™, with engineer review of the sites it flags, so attention and budget go to the sites that need them.
Support through the transaction
Answers to questions raised by the other side, input to your legal and commercial advisers on ground-related warranties and conditions, and advice on the investigation to carry out once the site is secured.
Confidentiality
Transaction material is handled under our information security controls; the company holds Cyber Essentials certification.
How it works
Four steps to a position you can act on
- Brief. The site, the deal, the deadline and the documents already in the data room.
- Screen. GeoScreen™ report and public-register searches, usually within a day.
- Review. Existing reports audited, gaps identified, walkover where access allows.
- Report. Risk register, red, amber and green summary, cost allowances and recommended conditions, peer reviewed before issue.
Who it is for
Buyers, sellers, lenders and their advisers
Purchasers, vendors and their solicitors; lenders and funders; insurers; investors and developers assessing options; and public bodies disposing of or acquiring land.
We work across England, Wales and Scotland.
GeoScreen™ reports are priced per site and arrive in minutes, so a whole portfolio can be screened before anyone books a site visit.
See a sample report →Standards
What the work is carried out to
BS 5930:2015+A1:2020; BS 10175:2011+A2:2017; the Land Contamination Risk Management guidance and Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990; Mining Remediation Authority guidance on coal mining risk; and national planning policy (NPPF, Planning Policy Wales, NPF4). All work is carried out under our ISO 9001 certified quality management system (certificate 251677); the company holds Cyber Essentials certification, and every report is checked by a second engineer before issue.
Closing on a site?
Tell us the site and the timetable. We will set out a scope and a fixed fee the same day.