How exactly does a mandate begin?

With an enquiry by form, telephone or email. We reply in under 24 hours and propose an opening conversation, at no cost, to define the engagement, the timeframe, who decides and what confidentiality it requires. That conversation produces a written position: we accept, we narrow the scope, or we decline. Only afterwards are the confidentiality agreement and the engagement document signed, and only then is any counterparty approached.

How long does it take?

The opening conversation and the framing are settled before execution begins. How long execution takes depends on the type of transaction and on the market itself, and we do not publish average timescales because any figure we gave would be an invention: the milestones are set one by one in the engagement document. What is fixed is the notice: the moment a milestone moves, we tell you the same day, with the reason and with the alternative. If the timeframe you need is not realistic, we will say so before accepting the mandate.

What happens if the transaction does not close?

It depends on the model agreed, and it is written down before we begin. In buyer advisory the fee is tied to completion of the purchase: no purchase, no completion fee. In aviation, the management fee is agreed before the flight is contracted and accrues on the transaction contracted: if there is no transaction, there is nothing to invoice. In corporate membership the logic is different and it is worth saying so plainly: the retainer pays for availability and coordination over the period, and it stands even if a particular engagement does not go ahead. In all three cases you receive the file with what was checked and what was ruled out.

Who executes the mandate?

A single KAIROS contact, responsible for the file from beginning to end, with no switchboard and no rotation of account managers. The firm was founded by Álvaro Amor and coordinates its mandates from Madrid, supported by a vetted network of more than forty operators across five markets. Operators execute their technical part, but the relationship with you is not subcontracted and the decision is not delegated.

What confidentiality is there?

The confidentiality agreement is signed before any of the principal's information circulates, and all dialogue runs through a single channel. During execution the principle of least access to information applies: each third party receives only the detail it needs for its part, never the full profile nor the reason for the transaction. We do not publish client names or any detail that would make a transaction or the person behind it recognisable, and we do not provide references without written authorisation.

The mandate: process, fees and limits

The four phases

1. Opening conversation

What happens: You set out the engagement by form, telephone or email, and we reply in under 24 hours. The conversation is not a sales call: it serves to define what you need, by when, who signs off the decision, which jurisdictions are involved and what confidentiality the matter demands. No operator or counterparty is approached at this stage. At the end we say one of three things: we accept the engagement, we accept only part of it, or it does not fit and, where we know it, we point you to the route that does resolve it.
What you receive: A written reply with the KAIROS position: engagement accepted, narrowed to a specific part, or declined with the reason. At no cost and with no commitment to continue.
What is expected of you: The real context, including the uncomfortable parts: deadlines already missed, matters open with other providers, tax or family constraints, and the name of whoever decides. A poorly described engagement does not break at this stage; it breaks during execution, which is when it costs money.

2. Framing and scope

What happens: We put in writing what is being engaged and, above all, what is not. We set the object, the express exclusions, the single point of contact on each side, which decisions remain yours and above what threshold, the calendar with its milestones, the handling of information and the applicable fee model with the point at which it accrues. The confidentiality agreement is signed before any of the principal's information circulates. Nothing is executed while the document remains unsigned by both parties.
What you receive: The engagement document, which you may review with your lawyer, your family office or your finance director: object, exclusions, milestones and dates, designated contacts, confidentiality protocol and fees, with the accrual criterion written down before we begin and not at the end. Nothing you have not read there will reach you later on an invoice.
What is expected of you: That you read the document and object to whatever does not fit before signing it, and that you designate a contact with real authority to decide. Correcting the scope at this stage is cheap; reopening it halfway through a transaction is not. If the engagement requires identification of the client or of the source of funds, the documentation is provided here.

3. Execution

What happens: A file is opened and KAIROS goes out to the market on your side. We approach operators and counterparties, we test what each one returns and we rule out whatever does not hold up, recording the reason. The principle of least access to information applies: each third party receives only the detail it needs to execute its part, never the full profile of the principal nor the reason for the transaction. You receive an update at the agreed milestones and same-day notice the moment anything moves timing, price or terms.
What you receive: Options tested and compared against one another with a reasoned recommendation, not a list of contacts to choose from blind: what has been consulted, what each counterparty returned and what has been ruled out and why. The provider's quotation is passed on in full view, and our fee is identified and kept separate from it. A single contact answers for the whole file.
What is expected of you: Decisions within the agreed timeframes, and notice as soon as anything changes on your side: a date, the number of people, a spending limit or a priority. In transactions with limited availability, your response time forms part of the outcome.

4. Closing and traceability

What happens: The transaction is closed with the counterparty, documented and settled. KAIROS then issues its fee invoice to the client and hands over the file of what was executed. We review with you what worked and what did not, and decide whether the mandate ends here or continues; if it continues, the engagement document is updated with the scope of the next cycle.
What you receive: The closing file: a chronology of the transaction, counterparties approached, options ruled out with their reason, associated documentation and the KAIROS invoice in your name, with the fee kept separate from the provider's cost. The file remains in your hands, for your records and to justify the decision to partners, advisers or the family office itself.
What is expected of you: That you review the file, flag any discrepancy with what has been recorded and tell us whether the relationship continues or closes at this point. Either answer works; the one that does not is leaving it open. If the mandate ends, the channel is closed and the documentation is retained in accordance with the protocol agreed at the framing stage.

Fees

In this sector the provider usually pays: the air operator, the seller of a property or the developer rewards whoever brings them the client, and the client rarely gets to know how much it was or whether that reward shaped what they were recommended. That advice looks free and is not: it is paid in the price, and it is paid unseen. KAIROS publishes the fee model for each area, not the figures, because the amount depends on the scope and is set in writing in the engagement document before we begin work. What never changes is who pays us.

Real estate: buyer advisory. A buyer advisory fee, tied to completion of the purchase and agreed in writing before the first asset is seen. KAIROS works on the buyer's side: it locates, tests, orders the information and accompanies the negotiation and the closing. It does not represent the seller, does not market a portfolio of its own and takes no part in whatever the selling side pays anyone.
Private aviation. A management fee on the transaction, agreed in writing before the flight is contracted and kept separate from the operator's quotation, which is passed on to you exactly as it arrives. KAIROS does not operate aircraft and owns none: it coordinates operators and brokers from the client's side.
Corporate membership. A retainer. It pays for an availability and a scope of engagements agreed per period, reviewed at the close of each cycle. It is the model for those who need continuity rather than a single transaction; each specific transaction is then governed by the model for its own area.

What we do not do

We do not provide financial wealth management. We do not advise on investments, we do not manage portfolios and we do not recommend financial products. That function belongs to an entity regulated for it; when the engagement calls for it we work alongside your adviser or the family office team, never in their place.
We are not a registered estate agency and do not act as one. We act as the buyer's adviser: we search, filter, test and accompany the decision. We do not represent the seller, we do not market third-party property and we are not paid by the selling side. Where the transaction requires a registered agent, the client engages one directly and we remain at their side.
We do not accept income from providers. No commission, rebate or operator incentive enters our accounts, and this is stated in the engagement document. If a provider offers to pay for the recommendation, the provider is ruled out.
We do not operate aircraft or own assets. We coordinate with certified, vetted operators, and we always say who executes each part: operational responsibility for the flight lies with whoever operates it, and that is put in writing before booking.
We do not sell subscriptions or concierge cards. There is no closed catalogue of benefits, no open commercial sign-up and no fee for belonging: there are defined engagements with a written scope.
We do not accept engagements that do not fit, and we do not work without a signed framing. If the timeframe, the jurisdiction or the starting premise do not hold, we say so in the opening conversation and no file is opened. No information about the principal circulates before the confidentiality agreement.
We do not put our clients on display. We do not publish names or any detail that would make a transaction or the person behind it recognisable, and we do not provide references without written authorisation.

Operations

Operation 01 · 2026

Engagement

An intercontinental executive charter, with KAIROS acting on the client's side. Transaction closed and invoiced in 2026.

What KAIROS did

KAIROS coordinated several air brokers on the client's side until availability was secured.

Outcome

Transaction closed. KAIROS invoiced its fees to the client, not to the operator: it is the literal application of the model set out above. We publish only transactions that have been closed and invoiced, and this record grows only when there is an invoice.

The mandate
A defined engagement, in writing, and a fee paid by you and no one else