Payment readiness
Buyers often ask whether they need someone to hold the money, or a clearer record of acceptance. Bespea is the record. Evidence before payment means a milestone is not treated as ready to pay until the agreed evidence has been accepted. It is not a traditional escrow account.
Honest scope: Bespea is a governance and evidence platform operated by Bespoke Champions League Ltd (Company No. 16778449), registered in England and Wales. It does not hold client funds and is not itself a regulated payment or escrow provider. These pages describe the model. They are not a claim that every capability is live on every project, and they are not legal advice.
Bespea is a governance and evidence platform for bespoke construction, fit-out and joinery projects. It creates a tamper-evident record of scope, delivery, acceptance and the payment decision.
The practical sequence is the one on the how-it-works page: milestones with written acceptance criteria, evidence captured against each milestone, acceptance or a challenge made visible, and that history packaged for review in a Proof Pack and, where a decision was recorded, a Decision Passport.
It is not itself a regulated payment or escrow provider, and it does not hold client funds. Bespoke Champions League Ltd (Company No. 16778449) operates the platform. The registered office is 39 Paxford Road, Wembley, HA0 3RQ.
If a project uses a third-party escrow arrangement, that arrangement stays separate from the Bespea product layer. It may be introduced through an FCA-authorised partner or introducer model. Escrow-protected payments are described as on the roadmap, and will only launch through an FCA-regulated payment partner.
During the controlled pilot, payments move exactly as they do today, between the parties' accounts. Bespea records the decision to pay.
Traditional escrow, in the commercial sense buyers use, means a separate party holds funds until release conditions are met. The protection people are buying is custody of the money, on that provider's terms.
Evidence before payment means the decision to pay is tied to agreed milestones, acceptance criteria, submitted evidence and a documented challenge window. The protection is a shared record of why a milestone was treated as ready. Governed escrow is Bespea's name for connecting a protected payment arrangement to that standard. It is not a claim that Bespea operates escrow accounts, and it is not live on every project. Any live payment protection depends on the specific project setup and the third-party provider.
| Question | Traditional escrow | Evidence before payment on Bespea |
|---|---|---|
| Who holds the money? | A separate provider, under that provider's terms. | Not Bespea. During the pilot, payments move between the parties' own accounts. |
| What has to be true first? | The release conditions in that escrow arrangement. | Written milestone criteria, submitted evidence, and a recorded acceptance or a documented challenge. |
| What can a reviewer open later? | Whatever that provider and the contract retain. | A Proof Pack and, where a decision was recorded, Decision Passports. |
| Is Bespea the regulated firm? | The escrow provider's own permissions apply to that service. | No. Bespea is not itself a regulated payment or escrow provider. |
How milestone disputes arise in UK joinery and fit-out, and what evidence matters before payment.
What clients and studios each use the record for, and who the controlled pilot is for.
How scope, evidence and acceptance are linked into one project record.
The exportable project record of evidence, criteria, challenges and decisions.
The record of why one governance decision was made.
Bespea's name for tying protected funds to evidence. Bespea does not hold the money.
What a client uses when accepting, rejecting or holding a milestone.
What a studio uses when submitting evidence and recording scope changes.
Free during the controlled pilot, on a real UK project between £25,000 and £2,000,000.
No. Escrow, as buyers usually mean it, is a party holding funds until conditions are met. Evidence before payment is the record of why a milestone is ready to be paid. Bespea keeps that record. It does not hold the funds.
No. Bespea does not hold client funds and is not itself a regulated payment or escrow provider. During the pilot, payments move between the parties' accounts as they do today.
Yes, as a separate arrangement. Governed escrow is the name for tying that protection to milestones, evidence and a challenge window. It is not automatic on every Bespea project. Live payment protection depends on the project and the third-party provider.
Payment readiness is the governed state in which milestone evidence has been accepted and the agreed conditions are satisfied. The parties pay directly against that record. It is not a transfer of funds by Bespea.
No. It restates the product posture already published by Bespea. Take professional advice before relying on a contract, a dispute record, or a payment arrangement.
Free during the controlled pilot, for a UK bespoke or fit-out project between £25,000 and £2,000,000. Onboarding is done with you. No commitment beyond the pilot period.
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