Insolvency and restructuring assignments require a commercial approach. Our lawyers are skilled at balancing the technical solution with the unique circumstances surrounding our clients’ business objectives.

Our ability to blend the legal duties and obligations of the client with the commercial realities of insolvency underpins the legal counsel we provide. Our insolvency expertise complements our general commercial litigation focus to ensure that we are well placed to assist insolvent corporates involved in insolvency proceedings or funded litigation, key in the current market conditions. Our expertise is sought after in high profile insolvency administrations and in particular because we are free to act against banks for insolvency practitioners.

We regularly represent listed and unlisted corporate debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, liquidators, voluntary administrators and receivers throughout Australia and overseas on corporate workouts, debt recovery, reconstructions and corporate insolvency.

Our expertise covers both disputes and advisory matters for many major multinationals, including Microsoft Corporation, McDonald’s Australia, Treasury Wine Estates, SABMiller, Unilever, and Blackmores.

We draw on our experience in a range of industries and markets to advise on the diverse activities of companies including:

  • advice to boards on disclosure and solvency issues
  • restructuring and negotiation of debt facilities and debt instruments
  • acting for administrators, receivers and liquidators in all aspects of their administration
  • advice on reconstructions and re-listing of companies
  • advice to secured and unsecured creditors on all aspects of enforcement and restructuring
  • acting for bidders for distressed assets
  • preparing and implementing deeds of company arrangement
  • litigation funding.

In workouts and restructurings, our restructuring and insolvency partners work closely with our specialist debt finance partners to provide an integrated, cross-disciplinary team with the full range of skills which may be required.

Key publications

Insolvency & Restructuring Case Summaries 2021 - 2022

The first edition of our Insolvency & Restructuring Case Summaries for 2021-2022, with over 45 case summaries highlighting the key takeaways and the practical implications for insolvency practitioners

READ MORE

Experience

Recent matters

APCHL

Acted for PKF Melbourne in their capacity as liquidators of APCHL in relation to one of the largest retirement village collapses in Australia.

Angas Securities Limited

Continuing to act on the run-off of its A$220 million debenture fund including numerous contested court hearings in the Federal Court against the trustee, Perpetual, and the structuring and obtaining of approval in April 2019 for a scheme of arrangement.

Aus Streaming

Acting in proceedings issued in the Supreme Court of Victoria to remove DW Advisory as liquidators of Aus Streaming Ltd and replace them with PricewaterhouseCoopers as liquidators.

Australian Fashion Labels Pty Ltd

Advised the external administrators of the AFL Group in respect of all aspects of the external administration.

Black Oak Minerals

Acting for KordaMentha in their capacity as liquidators of Black Oak Minerals on the sale process of the Marda Gold Project to Ramelius Resources Limited through a DOCA and court application, pursuant to section 444GA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

Babcock & Brown Limited

Acting for Deloitte in their capacity as liquidator of Babcock & Brown, a large multinational investment fund that collapsed post the GFC.

Coolgardie Minerals Limited

Acting for the administrators and subsequently liquidators.

Crescent Capital Partners

Advised in relation to the restructure of the Tigerlily Group and the UK restructure of Nude By Nature.

Flow Systems Group of Companies

Advised Brookfield, in its capacity as shareholder and majority secured creditor on the deed of company arrangement (DOCA) proposal and the acquisition of the business through DOCA (involving the preservation of business).

Fly 365

Acting for Roger and Carson and  Aston Chase Group in their capacity as liquidator of Fly 365 Pty Ltd.

Grocon Group

Acting for the directors of the Grocon Group in relation to the administration of that Group.

Gunns Group

Acting for PwC (formerly PPB Advisory) in their capacity as liquidators of the Gunns Group in almost 200 recovery actions.

Halifax Investment Services

Acting for Ferrier Hodgson in their capacity as voluntary administrators of Halifax Investment Services.

LifeSmart

Acting as a representative creditor and investor seeking to assert the rights of a certain class of creditor/investor to maximise their return in the Courtenay House liquidation.

Linc Energy

Acting for PwC (formerly PPB Advisory) in their capacity as liquidators of Linc Energy including the successful defence of the High Court Appeal in respect of environmental liabilities for liquidators.

Liquidator defence

Acting in the successful defence of claims brought by ASIC against a liquidator in Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Wily & Hurst [2019] NSWSC 521. JWS also acts on many other confidential mandates for liquidators defending allegations brought by various regulators.

Liquefied Natural Gas Limited

Advising the administrators and deed administrators of LNGL and LNG Group in respect of all aspects of the voluntary administration of the companies. 

Mega Ltd

Advising in relation to the receivership including advising on transactions for the sale of business and assets of the group, the conduct of examinations of the directors, and recoveries including associated litigation.

Northern Energy Corporation and Colton Coal

Acting for Grant Thornton in their capacity as administrations of Northern Energy Corporation and Colton Coal (two subsidiaries of the listed New Hope Group).

PrimeSpace Property Investment Ltd

Acting for McGrathNicol in their capacity as voluntary administrators and liquidators of PrimeSpace Property Investment Ltd, the developer of multimillion dollar property developments.

Octaviar

Acted for the liquidators of Octaviar Limited and Octaviar Administration Pty Ltd (arising out of the collapse of the MFS/Octaviar Group).

Ralan Group

Acting for  the director of the Ralan Group of companies which were placed in administration. As a consequence of the administration, over 1,000 purchasers of apartments in QLD and NSW became creditors of the Ralan Group for the value of the deposits paid by them for the apartments.

Rapid Loans

Acting on the successful restructure and recapitalisation of Rapid via a pre-packed Deed of Company Arrangement.

Theta Asset Management and Valuestream Management

Acting in relation to the administration and then liquidation of Theta Asset Management Limited and the administration and subsequent DOCA and Creditors’ Trust for Valuestream Investment Management Limited.

Recognition

Related insights Read more insight

Launching our 2023 Insolvency & Restructuring Case Summaries publication

We are delighted to share with you the next edition of our Insolvency & Restructuring Case Summaries. With over 45 case summaries highlighting the key takeaways and the practical implications for...

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Now you own it, now you don’t: retention-of-title supply arrangements

A recent decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Metal Manufacturers Pty Ltd trading as TLE Electrical v WesTrac Pty Ltd [2024] NSWSC 144 (WesTrac decision) has highlighted some of the...

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Section 588FDA: indirect benefits to directors risk voiding a mortgage transaction

A recent Federal Court decision provides a useful distillation of the key principles that apply to unreasonable director-related transactions under s 588FDA of the Corporations Act.

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