Alex Smith

Acted for the Royal Bank of Scotland on the restructuring of over £1bn of assets of Le Meridien Hotel Group.

Advised the UK division of Henlys Group, US motor manufacturer, on the group's global restructuring, including a debt for equity swap and complex negotiations with secured lending syndicate, a major noteholder and the pension fund trustees.

Restructuring and insolvency of First Leisure, one of the UK’s largest nightclub and leisure operators, involving a renegotiation and roll-over of a significant part of the syndicate banks’ facilities.

Advised a major European investment bank on various standstill and waiver requests and security restructuring proposals from corporate customers, particularly in emerging market sectors, including co-ordination of advice from external counsel in related jurisdictions.

Advised major European investment bank on its exposure to a variety of structured investment vehicles and monoline insurers.

Advised Ernst & Young as liquidators of New Cap Reinsurance Corporation with complex recoveries in the liquidation through litigation against directors, parent companies and other third parties and liquidation exit via scheme of arrangement.

Acted for Westpac as secured lender to Auto Group, a national group of vehicle auctioneers and retail motor dealerships and Ferrier Hodgson as receivers.

Acted for Westpac as secured lender to Retravision, a state-wide purchasing group of electrical retailers and Deloitte as receivers of the state purchasing and supply company.

Advised McGrathNicol as administrators of the Sydney Cross City Tunnel infrastructure project.

Advised a major Australian bank in respect of litigation threatening its property security interest, including investigating and advising in respect of potential fraud by corporate borrower.

Advised distressed investment funds as to the legal and structural risks relevant to potential purchases of, or holdings of, credit-wrapped bonds in a distressed Australian infrastructure project. Secured bond debt c.$1bn.

Advised a group of leading international banks holding syndicated senior, mezzanine, junior debt and swap exposures in relation to restructuring strategy and standstill arrangements in relation to a distressed New Zealand based corporate borrower with total debt of c.$1.5bn.

Advised senior lending syndicate to ABC Learning Centres as to the implications of public examinations of bank officers conducted by the administrators, potential claims against the syndicate and examinations conducted by ASIC. Senior syndicated debt c.$1bn.

Acting for a company in relation to the negotiation of standstill and forbearance arrangements with its asset financiers in light of the disruption caused to its business by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Successfully applied to court to obtain court authority for administrators to mitigate personal liability and sell the business assets notwithstanding that there were over 200 security interests registered against the assets, including competing interests.