Overview

The corporate restructuring and insolvency team provides specialist advice in connection with businesses facing a variety of financial challenges. From corporate and financial/debt restructuring, administrations and liquidations to loan enforcement, schemes of arrangement, company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) and distressed investing, you likely have a series of questions. With decades of experience, we can  expertly guide you through a period of uncertainty and advise you on how best to rescue a failing company, mitigate your exposure or address those businesses that cannot be saved.

Corporate stress and distress are as much part of corporate life as profit and loss. We work with clients from a variety of sectors who represent a number of different stakeholder positions. These range from companies in general to opportunistic investors, lenders, regulators and insolvency practitioners. Much of our experience has an international focus and we are well-equipped to advise on cross-border restructuring and insolvency issues. 

Specific areas of focus:

  • Cross- border and domestic corporate and financial restructuring;
  • Distressed investing and M&A (including debt sales);
  • Corporate governance and directors' duties; 
  • Loan enforcement and contingency planning; 
  • Pension schemes in stressed and distressed companies; and 
  • Schemes of Arrangement, CVAs, administrations, liquidations and receiverships.

The team at Burges Salmon are active members of:

  • the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (R3);
  • INSOL International;
  • INSOL Europe;
  • the Insolvency Lawyers Association (ILA);
  • the Professional Association for Property and Fixed Charge Receivers (NARA); and 
  • the International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC).

If you would like to learn more about the challenges faced by businesses and how we can help you with your individual requirements, take a look at our corporate restructuring and insolvency news and insights, or contact Andrew Eaton to schedule a meeting.

Experience

Advised FTI Consulting, as joint administrators, on the administration and sale of Cote Restaurants to a buyer backed by Partners Group.

Advised Bakers + Baristas on its CVA.

Advised Adelie Foods throughout its accelerated M&A process and subsequently advised Administrators from Deloitte on a number of asset sales.

Advised BDO LLP, as joint administrators, on the administration of Bathstore.com Limited, including the sale of the business to Homebase Rooms Limited.

Advised the Group and subsequently Administrators from FRP Advisory on a restructuring including the trading administration of aerospace composite manufacturer, Tods Aerospace, resulting in the sale of part of the business to Cobham.

Advising Irish Private Equity Fund, Causeway Capital Partners, on its purchase of Patisserie Valerie out of administration.

Advised administrators from FRP Advisory on the administration of British Ceramic Tile Limited, including the sale of certain assets to a nationwide retailer.

Acted as conflicts counsel to the joint administrators of a £500m portfolio of Hilton hotels.

Acted for a lender in connection with a debt and equity restructuring of a UK energy from waste power project.

Advised an investor in connection with a £60m debt and equity restructuring of a UK manufacturer including a £27.5m new money facility.

Advising PwC, as joint administrators on the sale of tReds, a UK footwear and fashion retailer.

Acting for Agent Provocateur Limited in connection with its pre-pack administration sale and the subsequent wind down and restructuring of its international business located across 19 countries, including a Chapter 11 in the US.

Acting for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in its capacity as representative of the "Exiting Creditors" in the 2018 High Court and Court of Appeal cases relating to the MF Global UK CVA.

Acting as conflicts counsel to the administrators appointed over the Zinc Group, which held a £500 million portfolio of Hilton hotels.

Acting for the Trustees of Silentnight Pension Scheme in respect to a Warning Notice issued by the Pensions Regulator and the successful defence of a judicial review brought against the Pensions Regulator.

Advising the UK government in connection with contingency planning relating to a distressed statutory service provider.

Advising the administrators of Cory Environmental, a major waste and waste-to-energy group, on a pre-packaged share sale and a subsequent intercompany loan reorganisation as part of a wider scheme of arrangement, c. £500 million debt restructure and refinance.

Acting for the trustees of the Hibu Pensions Scheme – the largest single creditor in the world wide restructure of the group – which included £3 billion of secured debt.

Meet the team
Andrew Eaton

Andrew Eaton Partner

  • Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency
  • Private Equity
  • Banking and Finance
James Sutherland

James Sutherland Partner

  • Head of Real Estate Disputes
  • Dispute Resolution
  • Professional Negligence
David Hall

David Hall Partner

  • Dispute Resolution
  • Banking Disputes
  • Business Crime and Regulatory Investigations
Colin Ligman

Colin Ligman Partner

  • Real Estate
  • Banking and Finance
  • Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency
Paul Browne

Paul Browne Partner

  • Head of Real Estate
  • Head of International Trade
  • Nuclear
Michael Hayles

Michael Hayles Partner

  • Pensions
  • Public Sector Pension Schemes
  • Financial Services
Rupert Weston

Rupert Weston Partner

  • Corporate
  • Hotels
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
Clive Pugh

Clive Pugh Pensions Partner and Head of Pensions Regulatory Investigations

  • Pensions Regulatory
  • Pensions Services
  • Pensions Legal Advice 
Emily Scaife

Emily Scaife Partner

  • Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency
  • Banking and Finance
  • Real Estate Finance
Amy McVey

Amy McVey Director

  • Banking and Finance 
  • Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency
  • Real Estate Finance 

Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency

Top-quality firm with depth and breadth in all the relevant areas to deliver the services required in restructuring advisory. Inclusion and diversity is embedded in the firm’s culture. 
Legal 500 2023

Key contact

Andrew Eaton

Andrew Eaton Partner

  • Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency
  • Private Equity
  • Banking and Finance

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