Restructuring and insolvency

Overview

We have one of New Zealand's pre-eminent insolvency and restructuring teams, consistently rated in tier 1 or band 1 on league tables.

The firm enjoys strong networks in the banking and professional services market.  With a full service offering, it has remained a key participant in the restructuring market through all recent economic cycles. 

Our lawyers have worked on some of the largest liquidations, receiverships, voluntary administrations, restructurings and finance company failures in New Zealand, and regularly advises on cross-border insolvency issues.

We offer restructuring and insolvency advice leveraged off regional knowledge and national networks.  Our clients include all the major participants in the insolvency marketplace: KordaMentha, McGrathNicol, PricewaterhouseCoopers, PPB Advisory, KPMG, BDO, Ernst & Young, Grant Thornton and Deloitte.  We advise a wide range of financial institutions on a regular basis, including in particular Bank of New Zealand, ANZ Bank New Zealand and Kiwibank, assisting them with recovery and restructuring assignments.  We also assist Crown Asset Management (a special purpose Crown entity) with the management of its distressed asset portfolio.

A significant part of the team's work involves acting for banks and trustee corporations in relation to borrower groups and public issuers whose financing facilities need to be restructured as a result of poor financial health.  This often involves a substantial restructure of the corporate group and its balance sheet. 

Majority of our notifiable work has a creditor focus, but our interest and commitment in the broad areas of restructuring, insolvency and workouts mean we can offer the full range of services, including:

• Advising banks, trustees and financial institutions on corporate restructurings, debt moratoria, debt for equity swaps and standstills

• Advising financial institutions and other creditors on receiverships, liquidations, voluntary administrations, and creditors’ compromises, including pre-appointment reviews, demands and preparation of appointment documents

• Advising receivers, liquidators and administrators on domestic receiverships, liquidations and voluntary administrations including the provision of fully resourced high level litigation support

• Assisting insolvency professionals on investigative accountant assignments

• Advising foreign creditors and working co-operatively on foreign-originated insolvencies (including insolvencies dealt with under the UNCITRAL Model Law) such as chapter 11 proceedings, liquidations and administrations

• Advising on multi-creditor priority disputes with a high degree of specialisation in resolving personal property law (PPSA) disputes

• Advising board directors on liability through the insolvency process

• Advising on a wide range of insolvency related litigation assignments, including wrongful trading claims, insolvent transactions and securities, and directions applications for receivers, liquidators, administrators and creditors.

Work highlights

Our team