Restructuring and Insolvency Services

Early engagement is the key to recovery

Organisations, directors, employees, shareholders, lenders and creditors can all be negatively impacted when a business gets into difficulty, underperforms financially or experiences a crisis. In our experience, early intervention can considerably increase the chances of a positive outcome for all concerned. Delivering the right restructuring solutions can help build a platform for recovery. We provide discreet and confidential advisory services to companies, stakeholders and individuals in troubled financial situations. For management, lenders, shareholders or other stakeholders in businesses facing financial underperformance or crisis, we deliver restructuring solutions which can help build a platform for recovery. Alternatively, we can help financial stakeholders to recover value in insolvency.

Solving your solvency and restructuring issues

Businesses can face a range of financial problems. They can experience cash flow shortfalls, onerous contracts, falling sales, excessive debt or a shift in market trends.

Where a business is facing financial distress or insolvency, it is important to identify the restructuring options available, assess the viability of the business and implement the best available solution.

Liquidity concerns
Balance-sheet solvency
Independent review of trading performance and prospects
What are my director's duties?
Assessing your recovery options
Corporate simplification

Liquidity concerns

You may be facing cash pressures, actual or potential breaches of a loan covenant or over leverage. You want to better understand the reasons for the underperformance and the available options to resolve such issues.

Balance-sheet solvency

Your business needs to be refinanced or requires investment but the distressed nature of your balance sheet is preventing a transaction from proceeding. You need to work with a trusted advisor and support management to:

Reduce balance sheet stress, deal with over leverage and long-term liabilities.
Improve working capital and cash flow.
Carry out a distressed sale of all or part of the business to secure the future and maximise stakeholder value.

Independent review of trading performance and prospects

You may be a financial stakeholder in a business who has concerns about its performance and future prospects. You require an independent person to review and advise you on the actual situation.

What are my director's duties?

As a member of the board of directors, you may be concerned about your responsibilities and personal exposure as the prospect of insolvency increases.

As a director of any business in distress, you have a legal responsibility to ensure the company is not trading in an insolvent position. Obtaining early advice can help you clarify the company’s status and the options available to protect the business and its directors.

Assessing your recovery options

You may be a creditor with a debtor in default and need to consider your debt recovery options including a winding up order.

You may also be a secured lender and need advice on your options on borrower default including enforcing your security where necessary.

There will be situations where a rescue is not possible. In that case, lenders or investors are likely to use a formal insolvency process to recover the maximum value.

Corporate simplification

As part of a corporate simplification or group reorganisation you have a number of solvent subsidiaries that need to be wound up or special purpose vehicles that have reached the end of their commercial life. How can you maximise value from this process?

Our restructuring and insolvency services

Receivership

We have an experienced corporate and fixed charge receivership team to assist lenders with pre enforcement planning and subsequently accepting the appointment to implement the strategy and maximise the recovery for the appointing lender.

We bring the benefit of many years of enforcement experience to loan portfolio sale or purchase due diligence providing enforcement analysis for loan buyers in considering their investment and subsequent work outs.

In addition we have developed a receivership platform to deal with high volume fixed charge receiverships. The process and systems have been developed to ensure efficiency in appointment acceptance, asset disposal and risk management and compliance for both lender and receiver.

View recent examples of these services.

Voluntary liquidation

We have extensive experience in acting as provisional and official liquidator in a variety of cases and sectors, maximising recoveries for the creditors together with carrying out investigations and pursuing appropriate remedies.

In addition to court liquidations we carry out creditor voluntary liquidations and can advise in all aspects of preparing for a winding up of insolvent companies.

View recent examples of these services.

Examinership/scheme of arrangement

Examinership is the primary formal restructuring process available to deal with businesses in distress with a prospect of future viability. We have acted as examiner and independent expert in numerous cases across a variety of sectors, as referenced here.

Members’ voluntary liquidation

A Members' Voluntary Liquidation is a process whereby a solvent company, acting through its directors and members, decides to wind up the company, primarily for the purpose of realising the company’s assets and distributing the surplus to its shareholders.

We work closely with solicitors, clients, and our tax and investment funds colleagues on both basic and complex solvent liquidations. We have acted as liquidator in a wide range of members voluntary liquidations realising shareholder value in the most tax efficient manner.

Informal restructuring

We act as a lead financial advisor to businesses in distress to steer them through a successful restructuring and refinancing either informally or through a formal insolvency process. We can provide restructuring solutions through informal arrangements in partnership with debtors and creditors.

Based on our long and successful track record of restructuring, we have the sectoral experience and capability to deal with any eventuality from small private business to complex cross border restructuring.

Independent business reviews

Organisations are facing significant challenges as they emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Early intervention is key in preserving business value.

An independent business review (IBR) can provide significant value for management and lenders of a business. An IBR is intended to review trading performance and outlook, identify the causes of distress and opportunities available, assess the options available and generate a series of recommendations.

SCARP

The Small Company Administrative Rescue Process (SCARP) is a new rescue process developed exclusively for small and micro companies. It aims to provide a simplified restructuring process for viable small companies that is accessible and cost-effective. This formal insolvency process enables restructuring by way of a compromise arrangement between a company and its creditors.

Our qualified and licensed insolvency practitioners can advise you on the SCARP process. Based on our long and successful track record of restructuring in Ireland, we will examine your suitability for SCARP and the likelihood of a successful outcome for all parties.