Consultinghouse GWB
Escrow Facilitation
Consultinghouse GWB Escrow is a milestone-based escrow instrument for financing facilitation. Committed funds are placed in a ring-fenced account held by a licensed escrow agent, and are released in tranches only when funder and recipient have accepted that a milestone is met. We structure the mandate, verify the parties, and administer every release from a single, auditable platform.
What it is
In a large-scale financing the funder does not want to deploy capital before the programme shows progress, and the recipient needs certainty that the financing is committed before it mobilises. Escrow resolves both concerns: the funder places the committed amount in a segregated account, the money is visibly there, and it is disbursed to the recipient tranche by tranche as agreed milestones are met. Each side achieves its objective.
Consultinghouse GWB does not act as a bank. We design the escrow mandate, run the verification of every party, and administer the release mechanics through the Consultinghouse GWB Escrow platform. The funds themselves sit with a licensed escrow agent or partner bank in an account opened for that mandate alone, separate from any operating balance, ours or anyone else’s.
We are not a party to the financing. Our role is to write the release conditions both sides can live with, and then to apply them exactly as written.
Money moves only when the evidence for a milestone has been submitted, the review period has run, and funder and client have both accepted it.
Every submission, acceptance, instruction and transfer is written to a tamper-evident log and summarised in a monthly statement for all parties.
How it works
A mandate typically runs from first conversation to a funded account within two to three weeks, depending on how quickly the parties complete verification. Each step below has a defined owner and a defined exit condition.
See every step, screen by screenWe agree the committed amount, currency, governing jurisdiction, and the disbursement schedule: which programme milestones apply, what evidence proves each one, how long the funder has to review it, and what share of the funds each milestone releases. The result is a written mandate both parties sign.
Each organisation completes KYB, discloses its beneficial owners, makes an anti-money-laundering declaration, and registers the individuals authorised to approve milestones and confirm payment instructions. Nothing proceeds until CHGWB compliance has cleared both sides.
A dedicated account is opened for the mandate with a licensed escrow agent or partner bank. It holds this mandate’s funds and nothing else. The funder receives the account details through the portal, never by email.
The funder transfers the committed amount. The credit is matched to the mandate reference, recorded in the ledger, and confirmed to both parties. The recipient now has certainty that the financing exists and is ring-fenced before the programme starts.
For each milestone the recipient uploads the agreed evidence: satisfied conditions precedent, drawdown certificates, engineer or auditor reports. The funder has the agreed review period to accept or raise a dispute. Silence at the end of the period counts as acceptance, so a milestone cannot be stalled indefinitely.
An accepted milestone becomes a payment instruction to the recipient’s verified beneficiary account, confirmed by callback with a registered signatory and approved by two CHGWB officers. If the mandate ends early, unreleased funds are returned only to the account they came from.
When the last tranche is released the mandate closes with a final statement, and personal data held for the mandate is retired on the agreed retention schedule.
How we help
Most escrow arrangements fail before they start: the release conditions are vague, one side cannot pass compliance, or the documentation does not match the financing terms. Our advisory work is aimed squarely at those failure points.
Translating a facility or financing agreement into a release schedule precise enough to administer: which document proves which milestone, what review window is realistic, and how partial completion is handled.
Walking both organisations through KYB, beneficial-ownership disclosure and AML declarations before they hold up the mandate — including the downloadable intake packs that let each side prepare everything offline.
Aligning the escrow mandate with the facility agreement, conditions precedent and any guarantee or credit enhancement in place, working with your counsel and ours so there is one consistent set of terms.
Administering the mandate day to day: matching credits, chasing overdue evidence, running review periods, handling amendments both parties agree to, and keeping everyone informed.
When a milestone is disputed the funds stay put. We run the standstill mechanics written into the mandate, document each party’s position, and administer whatever resolution the parties or their arbitrator reach.
For multi-phase programmes, repeat facilities or several funders into one project, we set up a standing framework so each new tranche or facility is a mandate that can be opened in days rather than weeks.
Safeguards
The protections below are not policies we promise to follow. They are enforced by the platform itself and cannot be switched off for an individual mandate.
Funds for one financing never share an account with funds for another, or with any operating balance.
No account is opened and no money is accepted until KYB, beneficial ownership and AML checks have cleared for both parties.
Each outgoing payment is prepared by one CHGWB officer and approved by a different one. The same person cannot do both.
Beneficiary account changes and payment instructions are confirmed by phone with a registered signatory before they take effect.
Money that leaves the account other than as a milestone release can only go back to the account that funded it.
Every event is chained to the one before it, so a record cannot be altered or removed without the break being visible.
Where it is used
An institutional funder committing to a public programme, disbursed against programme completion certificates and reporting covenants.
Staged disbursements under a development or blended facility: first tranche at financial close, then against satisfied drawdown conditions.
Multi-milestone funding of a project company where lenders or a guarantor require visible, ring-fenced capital and engineer sign-off.
Sponsor or co-investor commitments held neutrally until the completion conditions for deployment are met by all of them.
Questions
A licensed escrow agent or partner bank, in an account opened specifically for your mandate. Consultinghouse GWB is not a bank and does not take deposits; we structure the mandate and administer the release conditions through the Consultinghouse GWB Escrow platform.
When a milestone has been evidenced by the recipient, the funder’s review period has ended with acceptance (or without an objection), and two CHGWB officers have approved the resulting instruction. Releases go only to the recipient’s verified beneficiary account.
The funds for that milestone stay in the account. The dispute is recorded, both parties document their position through the portal, and the standstill and resolution mechanics agreed in the mandate apply. Nothing is released until the dispute is resolved.
Unreleased funds are returned to the account they came from. The platform will not send a refund anywhere else, even on instruction from the funder.
Mandates from the Middle East are held in US dollars or euros today. Mandates in UAE dirhams (AED) will be offered once our UAE company is licensed to hold client money. Governing law is agreed for each mandate.
Two to three weeks is typical from first call to a funded account, most of it spent on verification. Parties that prepare their KYB, beneficial-owner and signatory details using our intake packs are usually faster.
A mandate fee expressed as a percentage of the escrow value, agreed up front and split between funder and client as they choose. Third-party costs of the escrow agent are passed through at cost. There are no fees on individual releases.
Yes. Every party has portal access showing the account balance, the ledger, each milestone’s status and evidence, and the full activity log for the mandate. Monthly statements are issued to all parties.
Start a mandate
A few details are enough to begin. Our escrow team reviews every enquiry and replies within two working days with a proposed structure.
Tell us about the funder, the recipient, the committed amount and the disbursement schedule. We will come back with a proposed milestone structure and an honest view on whether escrow is the right instrument.
Already a party to a mandate? Sign in to the client portal. Client portal