Restructuring and Insolvency

DMH Stallard works with a wide range of lenders, creditors, businesses, boards of directors and insolvency practitioners – advising on numerous areas of the borrowing and lending journey.

What happens if the borrower is unable to pay?

We advise on a wide range of sensitive positions, aiming to guide our clients to a sensible and pragmatic position. From a strategic review to implementing active protectionist strategies, we use our collective experience and expertise to effectively engage all available contractual and statutory tools to achieve a client’s aims. This might encompass advising on debt options (including security reviews) and working through contingencies, debt management, restructuring plans, schemes of arrangement, or we will consider the steps leading to more formal insolvency options (liquidations, administrations, company voluntary arrangements), such as reservations of rights and demand letters. We work closely with all stakeholders to limit and manage their risks.

How can we help lenders (and borrowers)? 

We have strong and independent working relationships with major lenders, businesses and insolvency practitioners and work hand in hand with them to achieve results.

When acting for borrowers, we bring an experienced eye to proceedings, using our market knowledge and position to assist the borrower in dealing with its distressed position.

We regularly act for insolvency practitioners leading up to and post their appointment in a formal insolvency process and advise on appointments over both corporates and individuals. We advise administrators, liquidators, supervisors, receivers, and trustees in bankruptcy.

How can we assist insolvency practitioners? 

We have an experienced and pragmatic Restructuring and Insolvency team, with various discrete areas of specialism covering the wide and broad range of challenges that insolvency practitioners face in their day-to-day roles.  From pre-appointment considerations, receiverships, trading administrations, disputed liquidations, through to antecedent transaction claims, we have a team dedicated to assisting the appointment-taker from commencement to closure of their file.

How can we maximise value? 

We have particular expertise in the transactional insolvency space. On the transactional side, we advise on all areas of restructuring, including on lender documentation, debt-restructurings, creditor-management, and sales and purchases.

On the contentious side, we advise on all areas of insolvency. These include discrete insolvency actions; remuneration applications and disputes; debt claims; director claims and antecedent transaction claims; asset-tracing & recovery; and fraud claims.

Where appropriate, we work alongside our specialist financial, regulatory and property colleagues who can assist in advising on specialist issues and claims that may arise during the insolvency process. Our utilization of their combined knowledge across the firm enables us to deal with complex matters faced by insolvency practitioners in a practical manner that is cohesive, agile and cost-effective.

We advise directors, shareholders, businesses (PLCs, limited companies, LLPs, partnerships and sole traders) and creditors on their options when faced with distressed positions.

What do businesses need to consider when in a financial distressed position? 

When a business is facing insolvency, understanding the legal duties that directors may owe to either the company and/or its creditors is critical.  Alongside this, addressing the viable options available to them in a pragmatic commercial manner is vital.  Clear independent legal advice as early as possible is crucial in enabling you to take control of and effectively manage the situation at an early stage.

How can we help you and your business or your business investment? 

We advise on all issues faced by businesses and their leaders. This includes creditor actions, threatened insolvency proceedings, advising on directors’ duties, cross and/or director guarantees and advising on director disqualification.

With our legal experience and market expertise, we can assist businesses working alongside its lenders or other advisers, such as insolvency practitioners.

From corporate to personal insolvency procedures, we have the in-depth knowledge to guide clients through the varied restructuring procedures that arise in this area.

Corporate procedures

Our specialist Restructuring and Insolvency team advises stakeholders, lenders, businesses, creditors, insolvency practitioners and individual investors on all areas of corporate restructuring and insolvency.  This includes advising on restructuring plans, schemes of arrangement, CVA’s (Company Voluntary Arrangements) through to the more formal steps leading to or arising from liquidations (Members’ Voluntary Liquidation (MVL), Creditors Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) and Compulsory Liquidation, and Administrations (whether the administrators are appointed by a Qualifying Floating Chargeholder (QFCH), directors or the administration is creditor-led).

Personal procedures 

Our Restructuring and Insolvency team also advises lenders, creditors, individuals and other interested parties on all aspects of individual insolvency procedures. Work includes: Debt Relief Orders; Individual Voluntary Arrangements; Bankruptcy; and Bankruptcy Restriction Orders.