Alex Smith

Acting for a multinational professional services network as liquidators of a financial services provider. This ground breaking cross border insolvency has involved joint sittings of the courts and appellate courts of Australia and New Zealand.

Acting for liquidators of a discount electrical retailer including obtaining court directions enabling the sale of the assets in one line (notwithstanding that there were over 200 security interests registered against the assets, including competing interests) and relieving the (then) administrators from personal liability for rents pending conclusion of the sale process on terms that avoided prejudice to the company's landlords. Subsequently obtained pooling orders to streamline distributions by the liquidators in the context of multiple trading trusts.

Acting for major Australian banks on their exposure to the insolvency of several property developers.

Acted for US investment fund in relation to its exposures to a cryptocurrency platform seeking to undertake a court restructuring and a cryptocurrency exchange.

Advised various developers and joint venture stakeholders in the construction and renewable energy sectors on risks arising from the insolvency of contractors or joint venture partners.

Acted for a major Australian bank and its receivers on the enforcement and realisation of security over an insolvent wine production business.

Acted for the administrators of a parcel delivery logistics business servicing online retailers and their customers on the restructuring of the company, including the consolidation of the company's business with an industry competitor.

Acted for a New Zealand venture capital backed coffee business on the acquisition of a financially distressed Australian coffee roasting business.

Advising directors of various companies (including venture capital investor representative directors) on directors' duties and personal risk issues in light of challenges in the raising of additional equity or debt finance, including advice on the safe harbour defence to insolvent trading.

Acted for a company specialising in the provision of leased vehicles to rideshare drivers 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 and related lockdowns. Also acted on multiple refinancings of the company's asset finance facilities.

Acted for a major US financier and its security trustee in their successful intervention in a court application initiated by a corporate customer which, if unopposed, threatened to set an unwelcome precedent for the Australian finance industry that could have rendered security interests granted by previously restructured companies as invalid and unenforceable in the absence of express court approval.

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. AU$1 billion.

Advised international lenders 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. NZ$1.5 billion.

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 a multinational professional services partnership as liquidators of a provider of property and casualty insurance products worldwide with complex recoveries in the liquidation through litigation against directors, parent companies and other third parties and liquidation exit via scheme of arrangement.

Advised a specialist advisory & restructuring firm as administrators of the Sydney Cross City Tunnel infrastructure project.

Advised senior lending syndicate to a provider of early childhood education services 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. AU$1 billion.

Acted for a multinational bank on the restructuring of over GBP£1 billion of assets of an international hotel brand.

Advised a UK holding company on the restructuring of its US automotive manufacturing operations, including a debt for equity swap and complex negotiations with secured lending syndicate, a major noteholder and the UK pension fund trustees.

Acted on the restructuring of 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.