Restructuring and disputes
Business rescue and turnaround
We advise companies under financial pressure, and the creditors and stakeholders affected by them, on the options available and the steps each option requires.
Overview
When a business comes under financial pressure, early and clear advice widens the options available. We advise directors on their duties and on the alternatives open to the company, including informal restructuring, business rescue under the Companies Act and, where unavoidable, winding up.
We also advise creditors and other affected persons in business rescue proceedings, including engagement with business rescue practitioners, the evaluation of business rescue plans and voting. Liquidation, creditor recoveries and compromises with creditors are addressed by our restructuring and insolvency work, with which this work is closely aligned.
Alongside formal processes, we help businesses improve their position through turnaround and optimisation work: reviewing contracts and obligations, renegotiating terms and simplifying structures.
Services
What the work involves
Advice to directors
We advise directors of financially distressed companies on their duties, on the risks of continuing to trade, and on the options available, including business rescue. Directors who act early, and on proper advice, are better protected and have more options available to them.
Business rescue
We advise companies considering business rescue and affected persons in business rescue proceedings, including on the business rescue plan, voting and the rights of creditors, shareholders and employees. We help clients understand the process, the time frames and their rights at each stage, and how best to protect their interests.
Turnaround and optimisation
We review a business's contracts, structures and obligations to identify savings and risks, renegotiate terms with counterparties, and support management through the turnaround. The aim is a business that is leaner, clearer in its obligations and better placed to recover.
Solvent restructuring
We advise on restructurings outside formal proceedings, including debt restructuring, changes to shareholding and the effect on secured creditors and funders. We help the business agree workable terms with its funders and stakeholders without the cost and uncertainty of a formal process.
Rescue finance
We advise companies in business rescue and the funders who support them on post-commencement finance, including its ranking, security and the terms on which it is provided. Rescue finance is often decisive to the success of a rescue, and its terms require careful negotiation.
Stakeholder engagement
We advise on engagement with creditors, employees, shareholders and other affected persons during business rescue, including the preparation of communications and the negotiation of support for the business rescue plan. Constructive engagement with stakeholders is often as important to the outcome as the plan itself.
Who we work with
Directors and shareholders of companies under financial pressure; creditors and suppliers of distressed companies; funders and secured creditors; and businesses seeking to improve their financial position before problems become acute.
How we work
Early engagement
The earlier we are involved, the more options remain.
Candid advice
We give a clear view of the position, including when the options are limited.
Common questions
Do you act as a business rescue practitioner?
No. We advise companies, directors, creditors and other affected persons, and work with appointed practitioners and liquidators.
Technically sound. Commercially minded.
Advice that begins with technical precision and extends to the commercial and strategic judgement that founders, owners and executives rely on.