Insolvency & Restructuring
Legal support when businesses are under stress
Corporate distress affects every stakeholder in the capital structure. For lenders, recoveries and security enforcement move to the forefront. For directors, decisions are taken under intense time pressure with personal liability risks in view. For investors, counterparties and office-holders, the challenge is to preserve value, stabilise operations and maximise returns in imperfect conditions.
We advise creditors, insolvency practitioners, directors, investors and other stakeholders on the full spectrum of insolvency, restructuring and distressed-investment issues. Our work ranges from urgent winding-up and bankruptcy applications to cross-border asset recovery and complex restructuring plans.
Our approach is commercially focused: we assess recoverability, ranking and enforcement prospects at the outset, then design routes that protect positions, manage risk and, where possible, avoid value-destructive outcomes.
Our expertise in insolvency and restructuring
Creditors’ rights and enforcement via insolvency processes
We help secured and unsecured creditors assess whether and how insolvency tools can be used to secure payment or improve their recovery position. We advise on:
- Statutory demands against companies and individuals
- Winding-up petitions for insolvent companies, including tactical considerations
- Bankruptcy petitions in relation to high-value individuals and guarantors
- Applications for validation orders and rescission or annulment of winding-up and bankruptcy orders
- Proofs of debt, voting strategies and participation in creditors’ meetings and committees
We examine solvency, security, asset profiles and priority structures at an early stage to identify the most effective enforcement route and likely outcomes.
Liquidation, administration and receivership
We act for insolvency practitioners, lenders and investors in implementing and managing formal processes, with a focus on asset protection, continuity and compliance.
Our experience includes:
- Creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs) and compulsory liquidations
- Administrations (including pre-pack sales), extensions and exit routes
- Administrative receiverships and receivership appointments under security
- LPA receivership appointments and advice on strategy and realisations
- Asset realisation plans, sale processes and distribution strategies
- Trading administrations and operational issues, including key contracts and employees
We help office-holders and funders navigate their statutory duties, protect value in distressed trading situations and manage stakeholder communications.
Director conduct, personal liability and governance failures
Directors of distressed companies face scrutiny over decisions taken before and during insolvency. We act for directors, shareholders and other stakeholders where conduct and governance are under challenge. We advise on:
- Misfeasance and breach-of-duty allegations brought by office-holders or other stakeholders
- Wrongful and fraudulent trading claims
- Transactions at an undervalue and preferences
- Overdrawn director loan accounts, unlawful drawings and remuneration challenges
- Director disqualification investigations and proceedings
We provide risk-focused assessments, options for mitigation, and strategies for engagement with office-holders and regulators, including where early advice can help reduce personal exposure.
Antecedent transactions and recovery actions
We assist insolvency practitioners, creditors and litigation funders in identifying, investigating and pursuing claims designed to restore value to insolvent estates.
Our work encompasses:
- Transactions defrauding creditors and other voidable dispositions
- Preferences and transactions at undervalue
- Unlawful dividends, capital reductions and other unlawful returns of value
- Claims for breach of fiduciary duty, negligence or knowing assistance
- Claims against third parties, including professional advisers, financiers and connected entities
We combine forensic financial analysis, targeted disclosure and focused litigation strategy to prioritise the claims most likely to deliver net recoveries after costs and funding.
Cross-border insolvency and international asset recovery
Corporate collapse often involves assets, companies and trusts spread across multiple jurisdictions. We advise on cross-border insolvency and asset recovery matters, working alongside foreign advisers where necessary. We advise on:
- Recognition and use of foreign insolvency proceedings and office-holder powers
- Cross-border asset tracing, preservation orders and coordination of enforcement
- Cooperation with foreign insolvency practitioners and courts
- COMI analysis, jurisdiction challenges and forum issues
- Claims against offshore structures, trusts and related entities holding distressed assets
We work through international networks to coordinate multi-jurisdiction strategies that support effective, time-sensitive recoveries.
Restructuring, turnaround and distressed investment
Not every distressed scenario should end in liquidation. We support businesses, investors and lenders in exploring and implementing restructuring options designed to stabilise operations and preserve value. Our experience includes advising on:
- Refinancing, amendments and capital restructurings
- Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) and their suitability for particular businesses
- Schemes of arrangement and restructuring plans under Parts 26 and 26A Companies Act 2006
- Debt-for-equity swaps and other balance-sheet restructurings
- Stakeholder negotiations, standstills and interim funding arrangements
We help clients compare insolvency and restructuring routes, model stakeholder outcomes and structure solutions that are deliverable in practice and acceptable to key creditor groups.
Contentious insolvency litigation
Insolvency often acts as the trigger for wider litigation, involving complex facts, multiple parties and competing security interests. We act in contentious matters arising out of corporate failure, including:
- Claims against directors, shadow directors and connected parties
- Professional negligence claims linked to failed businesses (e.g. auditors, advisers, valuers)
- Contractual and tortious claims involving insolvent counterparties, including termination and set-off disputes
- Priority and ranking disputes between secured creditors and other stakeholders
- Contested applications within insolvency proceedings (e.g. removals, directions, extensions, distribution challenges)
We provide clear analysis of prospects, enforcement options and funding strategies, including third-party funding and risk-sharing arrangements where appropriate.
How we work with insolvency and restructuring clients
- Stakeholder-focused: We understand the differing priorities of lenders, office-holders, directors, investors and trade creditors.
- Commercial analysis first: We concentrate on recoverability, ranking and enforcement, not purely theoretical options.
- Integrated contentious and non-contentious support: We combine formal process expertise with restructuring and litigation capability.
- Clear, pragmatic advice: We provide concise analysis, realistic options and recommended next steps, with transparent cost and risk assessments.
Contact us
If you are dealing with corporate distress, considering a restructuring or pursuing recoveries in an insolvency context, we can assist.
Discuss a live insolvency, restructuring or enforcement issue
Arrange a review of recovery options, director risk or proposed restructuring terms
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