Restructuring & Insolvency

Recent matters

• Acted for Auréa Group, Mike Jatania and Paul Raphaël’s growth capital firm, to acquire the business and assets of the Global beauty brand The Body Shop, from its Administrators Geoff Rowley, Anthony Wright, and Alastair Massey of FRP Advisory. The Insolvency and Restructuring Team acted on the existing security analysis and the releases required and the insolvency aspects of the Sale and purchase agreement. The Corporate team lead by Nick Alfillé and Chris Allen worked on the corporate aspects of the deal, the Banking Team worked on the funding arrangements, The CIPT Team worked on the branding, franchise and operational IP, and the Employment, Property and Tax teams were heavily involved.
• Acted for Paul Appleton and Paul Cooper of Begbies Traynor the administrators of the online toy retailer Bargainmax to sell the business and assets to preserve customers’ orders and prepayments and the Employees’ jobs.
• Acted on both the insolvency and banking side on a credit bid for Mike Jatania to acquire the Shaun Leane Jewellery designs and stock from Paul Appleton and Adam Sharma of Begbies Traynor – administrators of Thornrose – Shaun Leane’s vehicle preserving the workforce and the beautiful jewellery.
• Acted for David Buchler and Jo Milner of Buchler Phillips as administrators of Primary Care Holdings Limited trading as Living Room Health in the provision of healthcare services. The business and assets of Primary Care were sold to Jorja Brands Inc Limited.
• Acted for Chris Farrington, Cameron Gunn and Lee Manning of ReSolve Advisory as Administrators of Everest 2020 Limited, one of the UK’s largest and best-known replacement door and window companies. The ReSolve team worked closely with our multi-disciplinary legal specialist throughout the engagement, preserving brand value, maximising the level of realisations for creditors and minimising the disruption and losses faced by the company’s thousands of customers by completing a rapid sale of the live order-book to an industry competitor.
• Successfully petitioned in the English Companies Court for the winding up of a foreign-based company, having rebutted the presumption that an entity’s Centre of Main Interests is located in the jurisdiction of its registered office.
• Advised the Supervisor of an IVA in connection with a creditor’s challenge to the Agreement under section 262 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
• Successfully acted for a Trustee in Bankruptcy in an application under the Charging Orders Act 1979 to discharge a Final Charging Order obtained by a debtor on fraudulent grounds immediately prior to his bankruptcy.
• Acted for a Liquidator in the recovery of sums due from a Director under an Agreement arising out of a Director’s Loan Account.
• Successfully obtained a bankruptcy order on behalf of the Supervisor of an IVA following the individual’s breach of the Agreement.