Vendor Commercial Due Diligence (VCDD)
Sell-side commissioned CDD with reliance letters offered to shortlisted bidders.
Vendor CDD (VCDD) is commissioned by the seller pre-process. The adviser writes a full CDD report and offers reliance letters to shortlisted bidders. Fee anchor £30-60k boutique / £100-200k Big-4 over 4-8 weeks. Buyer reads VCDD as primary evidence but rarely as sole basis for IC sign-off.
§ 1.1Reliance mechanics
The reliance letter is a contractual extension of the adviser’s engagement duty to the bidder. Liability caps follow the boutique adviser’s standard terms (commonly 1x fees) and read against the bidder’s legal team before bid submission.
§ 1.2Buyer trust mechanics
Most IC chairs require at least a top-up CDD even with reliance. See /types/top-up/.
§ 1.3When to commission
Sell-side processes where the seller wants to compress bidder timetable and reduce repeat-fee burden across multiple parties.