Our Business Support & Restructuring (BSR) team is headed by John Joyce. The team operates nationally to provide consistent levels of quality service with a commerical, results driven focus. The team comprises restructuring and insolvency specialists with expertise in areas such as company law, real estate, banking, employment and dispute resolution giving us the resource and experience to deal effectively with all issues arising in a restructuring or financially stressed context.

At some stage of their life, most companies will experience challenges to the stability or success of their business, whether from emerging competition, increasing overheads, pensions issues, debts, direct creditor pressure or as a consequence of pressure being felt elsewhere in a group company structure. Cashflow issues arising from inadequate working capital and poor cost control are common symptoms which can quickly lead to deteriorating relationships with funders and other stakeholders. Our involvement at an early stage can assist with the identification of problems and promote constructive dialogue with stakeholders, providing the best opportunity for a beneficial outcome, for example through the rescheduling or refinancing of debt, restructuring of equity, reorganisation or disposal. We can also help where business challenges arise because of trading issues faced by suppliers or customers.

Why use us?

• We are one of the UK's leading law firms with established BSR teams in each of our 3 offices.
• We have nationally recognised partners and supporting teams with an established track record acting for a variety of clients including companies, institutional lenders and professional clients. We develop close relationships with our clients and enjoy working team to team.
• We have the skill sets within each of our teams to handle all restructuring, turnaround and insolvency assignments across a wide range of industry sectors, focusing on commerciality and achieving the desired result.
• We have particular expertise in corporate restructuring to protect, preserve and enhance value for stakeholders. We can provide clients with an early risk assessment to identify remedial objectives.
• We have significant experience in the pensions arena, advising companies (often in connection with pension deficit issues) and Scheme Trustees (as to how best to extract value for the Scheme).
• Our expertise in dispute resolution includes asset recovery, restitution claims, misfeasance, retention of title and directors disqualification as well as employment, land, professional negligence and company law disputes, in a financially-stressed context.

Restructuring

• Accelerated M&A (seller and buyer)
• Debt rescheduling
• Debt and equity restructuring

Insolvency

• Types of structure
• Advice to office-holders, funders and other stakeholders
• Jurisdictional issues
• Pro-active project management

Reorganisations

• Turnaround
• Section 100 Schemes
• Advisory
• Security reviews
• Contingency and exit planning
• Trading issues
• Advice to directors

Pensions

• Impact on trustees and corporates
• Pensions Regulator clearances
• Analysis of employer covenant strength
• Impact of deficit on solvency

Recovery

• Business and asset realisation
• Officeholders' powers and duties
• Creditors' claims and priorities, employment and pensions issues

Dispute Resolution

• Asset recovery
• Antecedent transactions
• Misfeasance and breach of duty
• Fraud investigation
• Directors' disqualification
• Cross border
• Network of best friend firms
• Jurisdictional issues (including Centre of Main Interests)
• UNCITRAL
  
  

Clients and experience

A selection of our clients:

• 3i
  
• BDO Stoy Hayward
  
• Baker Tilly
  
• Begbies Traynor
  
• Deloitte
  
• DTE Leonard Curtis
  
• Ernst & Young
  
• GE Commercial Finance
  
• GMAC
  
• Grant Thornton
  
• Hilco UK
  
• HSBC
  
• KPMG
  
• Lloyds TSB
  
• National Australia Group
  
• Northern Rock
  
• PKF
  
• PricewaterhouseCoopers
  
• The Burnden Group plc
  
• The Charity Commission
  
• UHY Hacker Young
  
• Wilson Pitts

A sample of our recent experience:

• Acting for the Administrators of Stag Furniture Ltd, a Sunderland based furniture manufacturers employing in excess of 500 people.
  
• Acting for the Liquidators of The Accident Group in the investigation of various antecedent transactions.
  
• Acting as Receiver and Manager of the Breast Cancer Relief Charity, appointed by the Charity Commission.
  
• Acting for Eurofinance S.A., settlor and residual beneficiary of a US based consumer trust, currently in Chapter 11 and in respect of which a Receiver has been appointed by the UK court to administer the trust in place of the Trustees.
  
• Advising on UK related proceedings for declarations as to actions of the Trustees as well as considering relevant applications to be made in the US and Canada.
  
• Acting for the Administrators of Fer De Lit Limited t/a Feather & Black, a luxury bedroom furniture retailer with 30 stores nationwide.
  
• Acting for GE Commercial Finance Limited and its appointed Administrators in connection with the administration of Goulds (Design and Manufacturing) Limited.
  
• Acting for a London based magazine publishing group in the consensual restructuring of its debts (over £30m) including negotiating trust arrangements with the group's bankers (Barclays, RBS and Allied Irish).
  
• Advising the Trustees of the Golden Wonder Pensions Scheme regarding the legislation relating to defined benefit schemes including moral hazard, wind up and clearances.
  
• Acting for The John David Group PLC (JD Sports) in connection with the acquisition of the business and assets of Allsports (Retail) Limited from Allsports' Administrators.
  
• Acting for the Liquidators of KPNQwest Assets UK Limited: advising on the validity of claims circa 500m Euros and advising in relation to fraudulent trading, wrongful trading and misfeasance claims.
  
• Acting for the Administrators of the Mason Entertainment Group, a nightclub and bingo hall owner in the North East.
  
• Acting in relation to the application by MHMH Limited for the appointment of a Provisional Liquidator (MHMH Limited v Carnwood Barker Holdings Limited).
  
• Acting for the Dutch Liquidator of MG Rover Nederland B.V. in relation to a determination of the COMi, including preparing evidence for both the UK and Dutch courts. Also advising on IP rights and realisation of assets.
  
• Acting in the successful defence of the Ultraframe v Fielding litigation which involved complex insolvency and company law issues and culminated in a trial lasting 6 months after 6 years of litigation.
  
• Acting for the Administrators of Walmsley Furnishing PLC, a soft furnishing retailer, with over 100 retail stores.