Corporate recovery, restructuring & insolvency

Turnaround and restructuring

We have wide and varied experience of all aspects of turnaround and restructuring, including over many financial crises. This encompasses acting for creditor groups, restructuring practitioners or working with the board through the process, providing them with the protection and comfort they need through the difficult times and planning the exit strategy including CVAs and Schemes of Arrangement to avoid overtrading.

Administrations

We regularly act for administrators, advise directors on putting their company into administration and assist creditors of companies which have gone into administration, particularly landlords.

Our insolvency lawyers advise companies on the accelerated M&A process and administrators on the many issues trading the business of insolvent companies and on selling the businesses whether via a pre-pack or following a period of extensive marketing through the trading period.

Buying businesses from administrators and liquidators

As well as selling the businesses and assets of insolvent companies for administrators we act for entrepreneurs and investors (ranging from high net worth individuals looking to diversify their investments to venture capital and private equity firms) in buying businesses from administrators and liquidators.

Compulsory and voluntary liquidations

Our insolvency lawyers regularly advise liquidators, directors, shareholders and creditors on all issues relating to compulsory and voluntary liquidations, including solvent liquidations (MVLs).

Insolvency litigation both for and against insolvency practitioners

We regularly act on Insolvency Act and ‘breach of duty’ claims by liquidators and administrators; we also advise directors threatened with such claims.

Bankruptcy

Personal bankruptcy often involves complex and contentious legal issues, especially when it concerns international debtors, creditors, lenders, assets and financial structures. Our partner-led team has the expertise to help you tackle these challenges. We advise the full range of stakeholders including trustees in bankruptcy, debtors and their families, creditors and anyone involved with or exposed to the personal insolvency process.

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Directors’ disqualification proceedings

We have considerable experience of advising directors threatened with disqualification proceedings. We regularly defend such proceedings, negotiate the terms of disqualification undertakings and act on applications for permission to be a director while disqualified.

Unfair prejudice proceedings

Our insolvency lawyers regularly act in shareholder disputes and often advise minority shareholders unhappy with the way a company is being run on their rights and remedies. We are very experienced in these disputes which can be as bitter as a divorce, particularly with family companies (often following a bereavement or arising during succession planning) and between former friends who went into business together and we have the patience and the insights and experience to steer the parties to a successful outcome, most frequently through mediation.

Security Reviews

Having worked in Insolvency and restructuring for so long (our Team’s experience goes back to 1980) we are expert and analysing often complex security and priority arrangements affecting companies and members of the security group.

This is of particular importance for boards, investors and funders considering any form of restructuring, and to administrators and liquidators who need to know how to deal with assets in their control which may be subject to fixed or floating charges.