重组与破产

Our multi-jurisdictional financial restructuring team has extensive experience of financial restructurings and working with clients in other scenarios that require bespoke approaches.  We work with stakeholders at all levels of the capital structure, and across a broad range of industries, to deliver tailored solutions to clients’ problems.

We act for stakeholders at all levels of the capital structure where financial distress or other challenges are encountered: banks, financial institutions, trade creditors, debtors, directors, sponsors and shareholders, agents and trustees, insolvency officeholders and pension funds.  

We act across the full spectrum of financial distress and advise on:

• Out of court financial restructurings involving waivers, standstills, the use of a moratorium, emergency liquidity, stressed refinancings, restatements of existing facilities, restructuring implementation agreements, new money advances, and debt to equity swaps;
• In court financial restructurings involving company voluntary arrangements, schemes of arrangement or restructuring plans;
• Contingency planning, insolvency options and the application for and use of formal insolvency proceedings (often as a tool to deliver a restructuring solution); and
• Distressed sales and acquisitions (both within and outside of insolvency processes).

Our notable recent cases include: 

• Advising Greensill Bank AG's insolvency administrator on the restructuring/recovery of the bank's lending exposure, in excess of US$3bn, to various companies in the Gupta Family Group Alliance, including on the discontinued restructuring plan proposed by Specialty Steel UK Ltd and the placing of that entity into a government-funded liquidation;
• Advising Riverstone Credit on its secured debt facility to the Harland & Wolff group – the UK’s most well-known shipyard and manufacturing base operating in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Partnering with US counsel and UK financial advisors we advised on restructuring options and ultimately on the administration sale of the business to a Spanish state-owned operator.
• Acting for Queensgate Investments on a standstill under and amendment and restatement of its GBP 280m senior and mezzanine facilities to provide it with additional time to implement a disposal of the Kensington Forum Hotel.
• Advising various aircraft lessors on Hong Kong Airlines novel, parallel use of a Hong Kong scheme of arrangement and English restructuring plan to compromise the English and Hong Kong law liabilities owed to various classes of financial and lessor creditors.
• Advising PricewaterhouseCoopers  as administrators on the pre-packaged administration sale of various assets out of three companies within the Royale Life group – the much-publicised UK bungalow and caravan park collapse.
• Advising the German companies within the Project Fürst group in respect of their parent company, Project Lietzenburger Strasse Holdco S.À R.L's Restructuring Plan pursuant to Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006.
• Advising Blandford Capital the special situations fund on its acquisition of the Hesley Group, a national adult educational and residential homes provider for autistic adults.

Our highly regarded team regularly advises on complex and cross-border asset recovery work, particularly where there is an element of fraud.

Our notable recent cases include.

• Acting for the Enforcement Receivers of twice-convicted fraudster Dr Gerald Smith in relation to one of the largest ever UK confiscation orders made in a case by the serious fraud office. The case involves complex long-running concurrent litigation and/or arbitration in over 10 jurisdictions.
• Acting for Court appointed receivers in Turks and Caicos Island litigation, following an application made by Deutsche Bank as judgment creditor for US$235 million plus interest, following the decision of Mr Justice Cooke in Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings Inc.  Sebastian Holdings is an investment vehicle of the Norwegian billionaire Alexander Vik.
• Acting for the liquidators of Rangers Football Club, on all aspects of the liquidation, including successfully pursuing a claim of £100m plus for unlawful means conspiracy arising out of the sale of the club in 2011.

Our market leading personal insolvency practice has proven and recognised experience of acting on some of the most high-profile and technically difficult personal insolvency mandates in recent years. We are known for our work with major accountancy firms and banks on high-value contentious matters and cross-border asset tracing in relation to wealthy debtors. We also handle cases with a fraud element and have notable expertise in handling sport-related insolvencies.

Our experience includes:

• Acting for the Trustees in Bankruptcy of the tennis star Boris Becker, who subsequent to our investigations into his global network of assets and multiple court proceedings arising out of assertions of diplomatic immunity, was imprisoned for bankruptcy offences.
• Acting for the Trustees in Bankruptcy of Robin Symes, the deceased and disgraced former antiquities dealer, in relation to the realisation of artwork and antiquities located in various auction houses around the world.
• Acting for the Trustees in Bankruptcy of Georgy Trefilov, named Russia’s 79th richest person in 2011.
• Acting for the Trustees in Bankruptcy of Peter Halvorsen, a Danish real estate tycoon and ex-billionaire
• Advising a compensation scheme set up to compensate victims of a high-profile and extensive fraud committed by employees of a major UK High Street Bank.
• Advising a global investment firm on personal insolvency risks arising out of a homeownership scheme for low-income clients.

Our team is highly experienced in managing matters that span multiple countries, working seamlessly with local advisors to ensure a coordinated approach, notwithstanding conflicting legal systems and differing regulatory standards.

Some of our notable cases include:

• Advising KPMG Ireland as Examiner of Silverpail Dairy, an Irish ice cream manufacture and supplier in connection with an application under English legislation for the recognition in England and Wales of the Irish Examinership of Silverpail and a proposed Scheme of Arrangement promoted in the Examinership.
• Advising the Trustees in Bankruptcy of Jason Blain: Mr Blain was made bankrupt in Scotland and we have secured recognition of his personal insolvency proceedings in Brazil (representing the first recognition in that country of an overseas personal insolvency process), England, the United States, Switzerland and Italy.
• Advising the Trustees in Bankruptcy of the Deceased Estate of Kamal Siddiqi. Mr Siddiqi passed away in November 2020 and later that month the Trustees were appointed by the Secretary of State. We made a successful application for the English bankruptcy order to be recognised in Switzerland after which the Zurich Bankruptcy Court opened Swiss mini-bankruptcy proceedings over Mr Kamal Siddiqi's assets located in Switzerland. Advising multiple Trustees in Bankruptcy on how to secure and dispose of overseas real estate interests, including obtaining local court recognition of the officeholders’ status and interest and defeating attempts to put such assets out of the reach of creditors.
• Teneo/Volga-Dnepr navigated UK/US sanctions, securing licences and asset realisation in cross-border insolvency.