Restructuring & Insolvency Disputes

Covering the full spectrum of contentious issues in distressed situations

Whether you are facing an immediate challenge or want to protect your business in the future, our highly regarded restructuring and insolvency practice includes a team of litigation experts with strong technical restructuring and insolvency knowledge and broad experience of advising and acting in leading and complex cases. Whether you are a creditor, investor, debtor or officeholder, we will work towards helping you minimise risk.

Renowned international practice

Our global team advise companies in financial difficulties, potential purchasers, bank creditors and office holders. We have experience in all types of multi-jurisdictional proceedings including schemes of arrangement, protecting creditor claims, cross-border enforcement and recovery, asset freezing and search operations.

We understand your business

Our contentious restructuring and insolvency lawyers have a true understanding of our client's aims, whether it is a distressed corporate or an investment fund and act swiftly  to try to ensure those aims are met often in difficult and time critical situations.

One global team and co-ordinated response

Our team of experts draw on expertise from colleagues across the globe in our non-contentious restructuring practice, structured finance, derivatives, and capital markets practices as well as more broadly should the need arise. Our team has the depth and expertise to resource fast moving complex restructuring and insolvency related litigation and a synchronised global response allows us to deal seamlessly with any issue as it arises.

Our experience includes advising:

• The Receivers of the Gunns group (KordaMentha), in relation to all aspects of this high profile receivership, including a successful High Court appeal in relation to the question of whether various funds held by the Receivers were subject to a trust in favour of third party investors. Ashurst also advises the secured lender group of Gunns, comprised of both Australian and non-Australian banks and funds;
• A leading bank on its recovery strategy against, and subsequently acted for the receivers (Ferrier Hodgson) appointed by the bank to, various companies in a high profile WA property development group. Acted for the receivers in examination proceedings including successfully defending a constitutional challenge by the examinees to the validity of s596A of the Corporations Act;
• The Bank of England in relation to the use of its resolution powers under the Banking Act 2009;
• The Joint Special Administrators of Alpari UK Limited (the failed FX broker);
• The FCA in relation to the special administration of MF Global UK Limited;
• On the CEVA Group plc on the English aspects of its restructuring including recognition under the Cross Border Insolvency Regulations;
• On the Apcoa scheme of arrangement, acting for the ad hoc senior lender committee, in what was the most vigorously contested scheme of arrangement in recent years; and
• On the Rodenstock scheme of arrangement, acting for the applicant on this high profile case which is now the leading case on the central piece of restructuring law in the UK.