WHAT WE DO

SERVICES WE OFFER

feasibility studies

bankable feasibility studies

DCS advisors provide bankable feasibility studies (BFS) and reports to our public and private sector clients across the core sectors that we focus on, including infrastructure, energy & utilities, oil & gas, industrials and real estate.  In the case of a large-scale project financing for a new-build or expansionary capital project, a renewal/rehabilitation/retrofitting project or certain acquisition projects which involve financing, our BFS report will be relied upon as one of the key documents that we will use under our capital fundraising advisory and transaction advisory mandates when we enter into discussions and negotiations with prospective project lenders, credit rating agencies and investors. The BFS study will also become a foundation for the aforementioned financing parties when they conduct their due diligence on the project.  The typical commercial lender engagement process that we will utilize is described within our commercial debt fundraising advisory page.   Preparing a BFS is a multi-dimensional undertaking that requires DCS project management services, as it is the culmination of many different work product elements, including but not limited to:

• Economic and market studies.  We will provide economic and market studies and coordinate and manage independent third-party consultants' works streams included in such studies.  These studies, analyses and reports will develop the underlying economic and market rationale for the project and demonstrate, amongst other things that the demand and pricing characteristics within the target markets and economies justify and support the demand and revenue forecasts required to support the project.

• Cost-benefit studies and Value-for-Money (VfM) analyses and reports (if relevant).  Our cost-benefit studies can support the public rationale for a project by demonstrating that the total direct and indirect benefits of the project outweigh its total direct and indirect costs.  Our VfM analyses are used to confirm the advantage to taxpayers of a proposed public-private partnership (P3) or privatization project as opposed to a public-sector delivery model, given a proposed risk-sharing arrangement.  Both cost-benefit and VfM analyses are useful to demonstrate that the project is aligned with prudent public policy and has a clear ‘public interest’ basis for proceeding.

• Options analysis and reports.  Our Options Analyses can be used to demonstrate that the chosen project alternative (option) is the the highest-and-best option in comparison to all other potential project alternatives and variations.

• Construction, services and supply contracts.  The terms and conditions (and risk allocation) set forth in the various draft or final construction contracts (such as EPC or DB contracts or variations) and service contracts and supply contracts (such as O&M and M/LTM, fuel and commodity supply contracts, etc.) will need to be described in the BFS.  DCS provides contract drafting and negotiation services in regard to these contracts.

• Project agreements.  The terms and conditions (and risk allocation) set forth in the various draft project agreements (such as concession agreements, offtake agreements, lease agreements, asset/share purchase agreements, etc.) will need to be described in the BFS.  DCS provides contract drafting and negotiation services in regard to these contracts.

• Detailed technical and operational studies and reports.  Within our capital fundraising advisory and transaction advisory mandates, we provide our clients with project management services.  Under these capacities, we will coordinate and assemble all necessary workstreams and work products related site selection data, eminent domain and/or land acquisition plans, licensing and permitting plans, preliminary design & engineering, environmental and social (including any preliminary environmental and social impact scoping studies "ESIA scoping"), operating and maintenance studies and plans, management plans, environmental, social & health and human safety plans and programs, supplier plans, decommissioning and site restoration plans (if applicable).

• Financing plan.  We will develop a detailed financing plan which sets forth the anticipated types and sources of equity and debt capital that will be used to finance the project.  The financing plan will detail all the key assumptions and key leverage and liquidity metrics that we utilize.  Our initial market sounding activities and our own experience in the debt and equity markets will be used to inform the financing assumptions contained in the financing report.

• Comprehensive financial model (CFM).  We develop a CFMs which are cash flow models, which build-up all detailed revenue, capital expenses, operational costs, financing costs, tax and depreciation costs and shareholder returns projections.  All the assumptions in the CFM will be grounded in thoroughly vetted the underlying reports, studies and analyses described above, which have been determined plausible and defensible.  The CFM is also a tool for analyzing certain scenarios and sensitivities, up-side and "stress-case" scenarios.  We also provide lender case models (demonstrating certain defensible "down-side" or "stress case" scenarios and sensitivities) and  sponsor case models (demonstrating defensible "up-side" sensitivities).  

• Enabling Legislation, Regulatory Approvals & Entitlements.  We will assemble and summarize all necessary enabling legislation, regulatory approvals and entitlements as appropriate.
  

Ultimately, the BFS will be used in efforts to ensure the greatest amount of interest in the project from potential financiers and to lead to negotiations (or competitive bidding) that will result in an optimal combination of lowest possible cost of capital and the most favorable terms and conditions for our client.

DCS advisors are able to provide a BFS on a stand-alone basis or as an element of the services we offer to public and private sector clients who also have mandated us to provide transaction advisory services and/or capital fundraising services.  In most cases, as development of a BFS will be only one element of a larger project delivery program, DCS will also be providing other complementary services in relation to other transaction elements.  Our preference is always to provide such comprehensive advisory services and coordinate all elements of the transaction, including BFS workstreams and services on behalf of our clients.

Under any BFS mandate, DCS will draw from our global network of veteran industry expert advisor affiliates and our relationship consultants in order to assemble the most appropriate and effective team to match the specific needs of the transaction at hand.  This will always include leadership of DCS affiliate experts who possess decades of global transactional experience related to the specific sector and project type.  In any BFS mandate, our preferred role is always to serve as the lead project/program manager.  Within this role we are also able to assist in the selection and procurement (or subcontracting) and management of other independent advisors and consultant, including local and international legal, technical, economics, tax, commercial, environmental and other specialized advisors, as the specific transaction may require.  To the extent that other third-party advisors are required, there are many value added advantages of allowing DCS to assist in the procurement of these advisors.  First, DCS expert affiliates themselves possess many of the required legal, technical, economics, tax, commercial, environmental and other specialized skill sets and we are best positioned to determine which additional outside third-party skill sets are required and which firms or individuals should be hired in these roles.  Secondly, preparation of a BFS is a very complex undertaking, requiring the management and coordination of many simultaneous workstreams.  DCS advisors are experts inproject and program management services and are ideally suited to manage and coordinate a multi-dimensional advisory team most efficiently and effectively.

Integrated into or otherwise complementing our BFS services, DCS advisors offer the following advisory services that may be applicable, dependent on the specific needs of our client.

• Project Economic and Market Reports
• Cost-Benefit Reports
• Value for Money Analyses
• Transaction Advisory
• Capital Fundraising
• Tender Management: RFEI/RFQ/RFP
• Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory
• Project/Program Management
• Contract Drafting & Negotiation
• Strategic Planning
• Business and Asset Valuation
• Workouts and Restructuring
• Corporate Governance
• Training and Capacity Building Workshops

DCS experts provide comprehensive BFS services in the following sectors that we specialize in.  Please click on the below links to learn more about the sectors that we cover:

• Infrastructure
  • Transportation
  • Water & Wastewater
  • ​​​Solid Waste
  • Social Infrastructure
  • Telecommunications

• Energy & Utilities
  • Generation
  • Sales & Supply and Trading​

• Industrials
  • Engineering & Construction
  • Technology
  • Logistics, Cargo & Freight
  • Heavy Industries

• Oil & Gas
  • Upstream
  • Downstream
  • Midstream

• Real Estate
  • Warehousing and Logistical
  • Commercial and Mixed-Use

DCS experts provide comprehensive BFS services to the following categories of clients:

• Developers/Sponsors/Concessionaires
• Investors
• Corporations
• Governments/Governmental Entities
• Utilities
• Lenders
• Regulators
• Investment Banks
• International Financing Institutions
• International Agencies