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  1. Restructuring and insolvency
  2. Other recommended firms
  3. Leading individuals

Leading individuals

Bell Gully has a highly rated and ‘very responsive’ practice. It acted for lenders on Metro GlassTech’s $300m restructuring, and advised PwC on the receivership and sale of Pike River Coal Mine. The well-respected Murray Tingey acted for the receivers in high-profile proceedings against former directors of Nathans Finance and Bridgecorp. David McPherson is noted for his banking and finance expertise, and Toby Sharpe is ‘brilliant at documentation’.

The ‘formidable’ and ‘tenacious’ Scott Barker at Buddle Findlay advised trustees on South Canterbury Finance’s $1.6bn receivership. The team also advised Goldman Sachs and Brookfield affiliates on recovering and restructuring the commercial mortgage portfolio acquired from Bank of Scotland (BOS) International. Leading individual David Perry and ‘gold nugget’ Scott Able advised Bank of New Zealand, as a secured lender, on Pike River Coal Mine’s receivership, and also represented the administrators of Whitcoulls and Borders.

Chapman Tripp acted for McGrathNicol as receivers of South Canterbury Finance; and advised Bank of New Zealand, as lenders, on the debt and restructuring of CanWest Media Works. The firm also assisted PwC on the receivership of Strategic Finance, involving assets spread across New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. Michael Arthur and Michael Harper are recommended.

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts’ cross-sector specialists act for all New Zealand’s banks, and several of its major insolvency practitioners. Michael Langdon advised McGrathNicol in Sydney on the receivership and sale of ABC’s childcare centres and teaching colleges’ assets. The firm also represented Kordamentha in Crafar Farms’ high-profile receivership, and assisted the Treasury in acquiring assets from finance companies guaranteed by the Crown, including South Canterbury Finance. Zane Kennedy and Kate Healy are recommended.

Will Tipping and Daniel Meikle at Mayne Wetherell are advising Bank of New Zealand in relation to the Mediaworks restructuring. Tipping also acted for Sankaty, as lender, in relation to Metro Glass Tech’s restructuring. The practice specialises in non-contentious matters, complemented by the firm’s corporate and finance expertise.

Praised for its ‘in-depth technical skill and knowledge of the legal landscape’, Russell McVeagh specialises in large-scale restructuring and receivership matters. The firm acted for BOS International, in Australia, on the $220m restructuring of Metroglass; and advised the voluntary administrator of REDgroup Retail, the owner of Borders and Whitcoulls. Practice head Matthew Kersey is ‘a passionate client advocate’.

Simpson Grierson handles contentious and non-contentious matters, for clients including PwC, Kordamentha, ASB Bank, TPG Capital, McGrathNicol and Westpac. Special counsel Steve Flynn acted for New Zealand Oil & Gas in the receivership and sale of Pike River Coal Mine’s assets. The firm’s international work included acting in a major recovery action against a Dutch fishing consortium, involving parties across Hong Kong, Peru, the Netherlands and the South Pacific islands. Michael Robinson is recommended.

DLA Phillips Fox is advising South Canterbury Finance’s receivers on enforcing security on loan defaults, and continues to represent Deloitte on all aspects of its high-profile receivership of Dominion Finance, including several complex disputes. ANZ Bank regularly instructs the firm in Auckland and Wellington on mortgage and security issues. Martin Wiseman heads the practice.

Kensington Swan’s specialist insolvency department has strong litigation expertise. The firm acted for two parties in the recovery of assets worth a total of $12m, following the insolvency of Twin Pines Waikato Trusteeship and developer Michael Tololi. On the international side, the team successfully applied for recognition of trustees outside New Zealand of a bankrupt estate and effected a transfer of real estate to the trustees under the Cross-border Insolvency Act. Daniel Hughes is ‘getting a name for himself’’, and is highly recommended.

Boutique practice Lowndes Associates specialises in acting for insolvency practitioners in receivership, liquidation and administration proceedings, with clients including Deloitte’s Insolvency and Recovery Division. The firm also represented several formerly high-net-worth property developers and entrepreneurs, on insolvency proposals to debtors, worth up to $125m. Mike Whale is ‘one of the doyens of the industry’.

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