Greenberg Traurig London Restructuring & Special Situations Shareholders John Houghton and Aaron Harlow spoke with PitchBook about the evolution of the UK restructuring plan regime and its growing appeal to US-linked debtors.
Reflecting on the impact of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Petrofac, Houghton said: “A lot of people were quick to cast Petrofac as the end of the rapid uptick in the use of RPs, but for us it was all part of its natural evolution of the RP as developed by the judges.”
Houghton also discussed Greenberg Traurig’s experience advising on the River Island restructuring plan, including the development of a plan benefits allocation report following the Petrofac judgment. “We'd already launched the River Island restructuring plan when the Petrofac Court of Appeal decision dropped. We realised we needed to give the court far more granular information about how the restructuring surplus had been calculated and distributed,” he said.
Aaron Harlow shared his perspective on the role of mediation in restructuring plans, noting that “in a restructuring, there are winners and losers” and "you must show the court that you've given everybody a fair chance to be heard and to negotiate, and that can be achieved through pragmatic engagement with stakeholders."
“UK Restructuring Plans Back on Radar as US Debtors Look Beyond Chapter 11,” PitchBook. (subscription required)