Insolvency and corporate recovery in East Midlands

Browne Jacobson LLP

Highlighted for its ‘great technical ability’, Browne Jacobson LLP‘s insolvency group is led by Emma Taylor, with key support from associate Joe Price; together the team works with all the major accountancy firms across the Midlands. Price ‘leaves no stone unturned’ and specialises in contentious insolvency work. The practice continues to be busy handling insolvencies in the retail and manufacturing sectors, and providing advisory and transactional support to public and private sector clients on the continuing impact of the pandemic and other economic pressures.

Practice head(s):

Emma Taylor


Other key lawyers:

Joe Price


Testimonials

‘Their people care deeply about the clients and client issues. They are certainly not “yes” people, however always deliver. They are very focused on the details and are creative in their approach to tackling complex legal matters.’

‘Emma Taylor is a truly outstanding performer, and leads the team well with top effectiveness in getting results.’

‘Joe Price – Joe is laser focused on getting the right result for his clients. He is a creative thinker and will leave no stone unturned in his efforts to explore defense or attack of certain matters. He is obsessed with insolvency law and this makes it very difficult for him not to deliver as he simply just knows more than other individuals involved.’

‘Joe Price was extremely helpful and knowledgeable and ensured that the project was managed through from start to finish.’

‘Excellent knowledge of insolvency related matters. Collaborate well and listen to client needs to find effective solutions to work’s great impasses.’

‘Great technical ability, delivering information and solutions in an understandable manner befitting their practical and efficient practices.’

‘We used Emma Taylor to help us and found Emma to be practical, personable, easy to work with and extremely competent. The team felt reassured to be working with her during a very stressful time. Emma was responsive, hard working and thorough. Although it was the first time we had worked with her, we very quickly felt as though she was part of our team.’

Key clients

Anthony Batty & Co


Grant Thornton UK LLP


The Directors of Bearmach Limited (in Administration)


FRP Advisory LLP


Mace Group Ltd


RSM UK Restructuring Advisory LLP


Mazars LLP


Tom Joule


PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP


National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty


Work highlights


  • Instructed by the Joint Administrators of Active Wear Limited post-appointment to complete the sale of the business and assets to a foreign third-party purchaser.
  • Acted for the directors of Bearmach (an online supplier of Land Rover parts and accessories) after it had become apparent that the company was in financial difficulties.
  • Engaged by the directors of YM Group to provide advice to them on their risk of personal liability in light of the company’s declining financial position.

Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP

Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP houses a ‘very commercially sound and technically gifted team, which provides excellent service’ in the areas of corporate restructuring and insolvency. Lead partner Mark Wood undertakes both contentious and non-contentious instructions, and is particularly active in asset recovery. Director and litigator Ian Gill is another key figure in the department.

Practice head(s):

Mark Wood


Other key lawyers:

Ian Gill; Andrew Jordan


Testimonials

‘The team understand the full implications arising from the brief, and put a team together that can deliver complete solutions to complex problems.’

‘Stand Out individuals: Mark Wood & Ian Gill – Both are focused on ensuring that they provide the right solution for clients and know their subject area and have a complete understanding of the commercial ramifications of the solutions that they are proposing and the alternatives.’

‘A very commercially sound and technically gifted team which provides excellent service.’

‘Mark Wood and Andrew Jordan are highly regarded and capable. You know you will get a good service from them and a capable team around them.’

Key clients

Interpath Advisory LLP


Quantuma Advisory Limited


FRP Advisory LLP


PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP


J & P Associates Limited


Grant Thornton UK LLP


RSM UK Restructuring Advisory LLP


Begbies Traynor (SY) LLP


Mazars LLP


Smith Cooper LLP


Teneo Restructuring Limited


Kroll Advisory Limited


Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP


BDO LLP


Work highlights


  • Acting for Jupiter Marketing Interpath Administrators on the administration of the company,
  • Continues to act for FRP Administrators of JDP Furniture Group  in the restructuring and implementation of CVAs of subsidiaries for the administrators.
  • Acted for DCA J & P Associates in taking potential arbitration proceedings against various debtors in the context of the Gibson Innovations Group insolvency.

Gateley Legal

Gateley Legal combines the skills of the firm's corporate, banking, litigation and restructuring lawyers, with a track record in acting for national and regional secured lenders and accountants, debt and equity funds. Lead partner in the Nottingham office Chris Radford handles security enhancement and enforcement, turnarounds, contingency planning, directors’ duties, and solvent and insolvent acquisitions and disposals.

Practice head(s):

Chris Radford


Testimonials

‘The team always understand the full breadth of their brief and deliver advice to a very high standard. The advice is always prompt and cost effective.’

‘Chris Radford is dedicated to client service and offered appropriate and deliverable solutions that are pragmatic.’

‘Very strong technically and commercially, with great response times and client service.’

‘Chris Radford is incredibly experienced, very strong technically and commercially, responds quickly and is focused on excellent client service.’

Howes Percival LLP

Displaying ‘superb expertise in this field’, Howes Percival LLP‘s group of insolvency lawyers and litigators have acted on some of the largest non-bank panel insolvency cases, namely advising the administrator of a failed investment firm with possible recoveries in excess of £100m. In Leicester, Carl Mifflin continues to win instructions advising liquidators of companies engaged in aggressive tax avoidance schemes and has successfully recovered more than £10m for the benefit of HMRC. Northampton’s key litigators include Deborah Nigh and Katie Summers, who focuses on complex antecedent claims and major bankruptcy cases.

Practice head(s):

Carl Mifflin; Katie Summers; Deborah Nigh


Testimonials

‘The team has superb expertise in this field, including in the context of high-profile government instructions in directors disqualification and public interest winding ups. The team has a wealth of experience in running all aspects of heavy litigation and the complex disclosure that involves. The team is able to give effective strategic advice to clients and has excellent foresight to anticipate issues in litigation and deal with them effectively.’

‘The Northampton Team have a very strong presence in client debt recovery and work with various stakeholders to secure practitioners for formal appointments where required.’

Key clients

Administrator of Orthios Eco Parks (Anglesey) Limited and Orthios Power (Anglesey) Limited


Administrator of Wright Vehicle Solutions Limited and WVS Properties Limited


F A Simms & Partners


Parker Getty Limited


Begbies Traynor (Central) LLP


Grant Thornton UK LLP


Manolete Partners plc


Mazars LLP


Blades Insolvency Service


Springfields Advisory LLP


Work highlights


  • Acted for the administrator of Orthios Eco Parks (Anglesey) and Orthios Power (Anglesey), two companies that owned a 213-acre site in Anglesey for the development of a biomass power station.
  • Acted for a liquidator in advising on the validity of various security documents over a company and its properties and that of its associated companies under which there was some £2.35m owed.
  • Acted for liquidators in respect of various claims against the director of a company, principally that she was in breach of her duties as a director and thereby guilty of misfeasance under Section 212 of the Insolvency Act 1986.

Buckles Solicitors LLP

Buckles Solicitors LLP specialises in both contentious and non-contentious corporate and personal insolvency, in which it acts for debtors, creditors and practitioners in relation to the realisation of assets and antecedent transactions. Practice head Rachel McCahill also deals with personal guarantees, receiverships and any situation where there is financial distress. On the corporate side, she offers pre-insolvency advisory and support in voluntary arrangements and refinancing.

Practice head(s):

Rachel McCahill


Geldards LLP

Nino Simone leads the ‘exceptional‘ insolvency team at Geldards LLP, which counts several regional and national insolvency practitioners, directors, creditors, financial institutions and public authorities among its active clients. As head of the dispute resolution team, Simone specialises in complex insolvency litigation. On the advisory side, Ruth Thurland is experienced in advising financial institutions (particularly in Germany) in relation to UK insolvency issues, cross-border insolvency and company director disqualification, and regularly advises retail landlord clients in relation to tenant CVAs.

Practice head(s):

Nino Simone


Other key lawyers:

Ruth Thurland


Testimonials

‘Geldards Insolvency and Corporate Recovery Team are exceptional, they take the time to truly understand the situation and offer real world commercial advice.’

‘The individuals I work with at Geldards are genuinely interested in any assignment that I work with them on, they make themselves available and it feels like a Team where we are all working together rather than just the usual advisor relationship. Stand out partners and associates: Nino Simone, and Ruth Thurland.’

Shakespeare Martineau LLP

Shakespeare Martineau LLP handles all aspects of traditional contentious and transactional insolvency-related work, regularly advising insolvency practitioners, lenders and corporates. The team is particularly sought after for matters in the energy, healthcare and hospitality sectors. In Leicester, Sean Moran provides counsel to directors and insolvency practitioners on non-contentious matters, and has additional expertise in complex insolvency litigation. Litigator Tim Speed is another name to note.

Practice head(s):

Sean Moran


Other key lawyers:

Tim Speed


Testimonials

‘We have worked with Sean Moran and on all occasions he has provided good advice and assisted to obtain results where required.’

‘Friendly and attentive, strong in the energy sector.’

‘Sean Moran and Tim Speed are a great team and always put their clients first.’

Key clients

Interpath Advisory


FRP Advisory Trading


BDO


Mazars


RSM Restructuring UK


Kroll Advisory Ltd


FTS


Smith Cooper


Begbies Traynor


Work highlights


  • Advised the directors on the appointment of PKF Smith Cooper as administrators to high-profile Leicester-based company Clements Limited.
  • Represented the administrators of Iresa as one of ten applicants in an application involving Ofgem and other energy suppliers as representatives of suppliers of last resort in a case affecting the energy sector and insolvent energy suppliers.
  • Acted for the liquidator of an online retail business in negotiating settlements of a number of complex ROT claims prior to selling certain assets to maximise the overall realisations for the company’s creditors.

Nelsons Solicitors Limited

Based in Nelsons Solicitors Limited's Leicester office, Andy Rudkin has over 15 years’ experience in contentious and non-contentious matters, spanning both corporate and personal insolvency issues. He also handles instructions with a restructuring element, and has experience in liquidations, bankruptcies, antecedent transactions and misfeasance. Kevin Modiri is a key practitioner based in Derby; he is the lead contentious insolvency and bankruptcy specialist.

Practice head(s):

Andy Rudkin


Other key lawyers:

Kevin Modiri


Key clients

Nucleus Cash Flow Finance Limited


Nucleus Property Finance Limited


Work highlights


  • Acted for lender Nucleus Cash Flow Finance in pursuit of monies owed under the recovery loan scheme following default of payment by the borrower.
  • Acted for Nucleus Property Finance following default upon an underlying loan agreement, supported by way of debenture and legal charge.

Smith Partnership

Smith Partnership takes a ‘very user-friendly and practical approach to resolving insolvency problems for corporates and individuals’. Leading the practice, Ruth Ball continues to be sought after in complex insolvency litigation, in particular, cases that involve a high level of investigative work in relation to the use of s216 Insolvency Act 1986 and directors’ disqualification proceedings. She also advises on all elements of bankruptcy work.

Practice head(s):

Ruth Ball


Testimonials

‘The firm has a very user-friendly and practical approach to resolving insolvency problems for corporates and individuals. They are intelligent and hard working and one of my best instructing solicitors in this area.’

‘The stand out quality of this team is that they are hugely focused on the real issues and getting the best result for their clients. They do not waste time on irrelevant points or needlessly long letters.’

‘The Smith Partnership have expanded on their solid foundation of insolvency and corporate recovery knowledge in developing their department and practice over recent years. They take a commercial approach to insolvency litigation matters and are always on hand to assist with queries or provide ad-hoc advice.’