The coordination versatility of a 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene-tris-mesoionic carbene ligand is illustrated by the preparation of complexes with three different metals: rhodium, iridium and nickel. The rhodium and iridium complexes contained the [MCl(COD)] fragments, while the nickel compound contained [NiCpCl]. The preparation of the tris-MIC (MIC = mesoionic carbene) complex with three [IrCl(CO)2] fragments, allowed the estimation of the Tolman electronic parameter (TEP) for the ligand, which was compared with the TEP value for a related 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene-tris-NHC ligand. The electronic properties of the tris-MIC ligand were studied by cyclic voltammetry measurements. In all cases, the tris-MIC ligand showed a stronger electron-donating character than the corresponding NHC-based ligands. The catalytic activity of the tri-rhodium complex was tested in the addition reaction of arylboronic acids to α,β-unsaturated ketones. We gratefully acknowledge financial support from MINECO of Spain (CTQ2014-51999-P), UJI (P11B2014-02), Generalitat Valenciana (GV/2015/097) and FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (UID/Multi/04551/2013 and PTDC/QEQ- QIN/ 0565/2012). C. M. is thankful to the FPI program for a fellowship, B. R. thanks FCT for IF/00346/2013 and G. G.-B. thanks the MINECO for a postdoctoral grant (FPDI-2013-16525). The authors are grateful to the Serveis Centrals d’Instrumentació Científica (SCIC) of the Universitat Jaume I for providing with spectroscopic and X-ray facilities, and to FCT (RECI/BBBBQB/ 0230/2012).