Expert Evidence on the Market Value of Fundraising Services in the Mining Sector

NERA was retained by Withers LLP to provide expert testimony on the market value of services that DMA provided by introducing investment into a nickel mining project in Brazil developed by defendant BRN. Senior Consultant Bernardo Danesi was asked to present an independent assessment of the market value of the services provided by intermediaries related to introducing investments. 

This matter involves a commercial dispute at the High Court of Justice on the appropriate compensation of DMA. DMA argued it was due a finder’s fee for introducing an investor, equaling 5% of the total investment. The court sought expert evidence on the typical market value of the claimant’s services, should the court determine that compensation is due to the claimant.

NERA’s assessment consisted of a benchmarking exercise of the typical commission for finder’s services. NERA considered the nature of the services that DMA provided to identify two sets of comparable agreements. The first set focused on contracts that involved one or both of DMA and BRN, while the second set included a wider range of publicly available intermediary agreements. Based on the analysis of the range of commission rates in the comparable agreements, NERA assessed that the market value for the finder services that DMA provided was 5% of the total amount invested due to the finder’s introduction. 

Mr. Danesi presented NERA’s analysis in his expert report and provided oral testimony at a hearing in front of the High Court of Justice in London in March 2026. The court ruled in favor of the claimant and agreed with NERA’s assessment that the market value for the commission rate relevant to the services the claimant provided is 5%. The court stated that Mr. Danesi’s conclusions were supported by the data and his methodology (i.e., the benchmarking exercise).