Conflict-Free Advice
Where Structural Independence Matters Most
High-stakes steel industry decisions — whether investment, legal, policy or corporate — require analysis that is genuinely independent. Subscription-dependent data providers and trade associations face structural conflicts of interest that prevent them from serving these decision contexts credibly.
Our project-based business model removes those conflicts entirely, providing the structural independence that governments, courts, and financial institutions require. Since 2001, Metals Consulting International (MCI) has delivered conflict-free decision support across four distinct contexts: investment, legal, policy, and corporate.
Four Decision Contexts
Each context requires a different kind of independence — and a different evidence standard. Our project-based model enables us to serve all four credibly, where subscription-dependent competitors can serve none without conflict.
Investment Decisions
Financial institutions commissioning feasibility studies and due diligence require analysis that cannot be challenged on grounds of commercial relationship with the asset being assessed.
- Greenfield and brownfield feasibility studies
- Technical and commercial due diligence
- Business valuation and asset appraisal
- Lenders' independent engineer services
- Post-investment monitoring and commissioning support
Legal Decisions
Courts and arbitration panels require expert testimony that cannot be challenged on grounds of subscription-based conflicts. A tribunal can question whether analysis favours paying subscribers — and for subscription-dependent firms, the answer is that it structurally might. Our Expert Witness Standards, including CPR Part 35 compliance and duty-to-court protocols, are formally documented in our Code of Conduct.
- Expert witness reports and testimony
- International arbitration support across five jurisdictions
- Forensic trade and pricing analysis
- CPR Part 35-compliant expert reports
- Litigation support — SteelExpertWitness.com
Policy Decisions
Governments requiring neutral policy design cannot rely on trade associations that represent industry participants. Independent government advisory requires freedom from membership obligations and subscriber sensitivities.
- National steel sector restructuring plans
- EU accession programme support and state aid compliance
- Privatisation and industrial policy design
- Competition policy and regulatory analysis
- Policy submissions and parliamentary evidence
Corporate Decisions
Major corporate decisions — acquisitions, restructuring, market entry, technology selection — require analysis free from conflicts arising when the analyst has a commercial relationship with competing parties.
- Acquisition due diligence and business valuation
- Business restructuring and turnaround advisory
- Technology selection and appraisal
- Market entry and competitive analysis
- Performance improvement programmes
Why Structural Independence Matters
The Conflict of Interest Problem
Subscription-based price reporting agencies and trade associations face structural conflicts that disqualify them from certain decision support roles. They cannot:
- Provide credible expert witness testimony — subscription conflicts are directly challengeable under cross-examination in arbitration or court proceedings
- Advise governments neutrally — membership organisations cannot produce analysis that challenges the interests of their largest dues-paying members
- Provide adverse assessments for lenders — a firm whose revenues depend on subscriptions from steel producers cannot credibly provide negative assessments of those producers' assets to a bank
- Publish genuinely independent research — subscriber sensitivities constrain which conclusions can be published
Our Structural Solution
Metals Consulting International operates on a project-based fee model. More than 99% of revenue comes from discrete project engagements — feasibility studies, due diligence, expert witness retainers, and government advisory contracts. We hold no subscriptions from steel industry participants and belong to no trade body representing steel producers.
This means: no commercial relationship with the party being assessed; no subscriber whose sensitivities constrain our conclusions; no membership body whose positions we must represent.
Read our full independence statement → | Conflict of Interest policy →
Track Record
The following engagements illustrate decision support delivered across all four contexts. Full details are on our case studies page and testimonials page.
How Our Decision Support Is Structured
Three integrated service elements each contribute to decision support. No single element operates in isolation — each reinforces the others.
Strategic Advisory
Direct project engagements — feasibility studies, due diligence, expert witness retainers, government advisory. The core of the decision support offering, each engagement structurally conflict-free.
Think Tank Research
Monthly policy publications demonstrating analytical capability. Research cited by Nature, the OECD, World Bank, UK Parliament, and 30+ universities — validating the quality of our analytical approach.
Intelligence Resources
Proprietary databases covering 4,500+ facilities, 1,345+ capex projects, and 192+ M&A transactions — built over 25 years and underpinning the quantitative rigour of every engagement.
Who We Serve
Client Types Requiring Independent Decision Support
Named Clients & References
Commission Independent Steel Industry Decision Support
Whether you are a bank commissioning investment due diligence, a government requiring a national restructuring plan, a legal team seeking an expert witness, or a corporation evaluating an acquisition — our structural independence makes us the appropriate choice where conflicts of interest cannot be tolerated.
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