Distressed and turnaround strategies

When a family business or holding comes under stress.

Restructuring, liquidity and recovery plans for family businesses and holdings under stress.

Speak to us confidentially See an example

Torn layers of dark paper with seams of gold leaf

Key services

Three stages, from the first weeks to recovery.

Speed matters, and so does discretion. We work with the family's lawyers and lenders from the first week.

Stabilise
Establish the true cash position, protect liquidity and give the family one clear view of exposures across entities, lenders and guarantees.
Restructure
Build the restructuring plan, work with the family's lawyers and lenders, and test options such as refinancing, asset sales or new capital.
Recover
Oversee the plan through to recovery, with reporting to the family council and controls that stop the same pressure building again.

The aim

Protect what the family has built, and come out of it with controls that stop the same pressure building again.

Operators, not observers

Experience drawn from more than 15 years as a Director and CFO of international companies, and a founder who has founded five companies and exited all five.

Meet the team

How this works in practice.

Customer scenarios

Scenarios on this page are illustrative and do not describe real clients. Investment, trust and insurance services are provided with licensed partners where required. This page is general information, not advice.

Scenario

A covenant breach at a family holding

The lender has called a meeting for next week.

The situation: A family-owned property company breaches a loan covenant after a tenant fails. The family has personal guarantees in place and no single view of its exposure.
What we would do: In the first weeks we map every loan, guarantee and cash source, build a thirteen-week cash forecast, and go into the lender meeting with the family's lawyers and a credible plan.
Where it leaves the family: The family negotiates from a position of knowledge, protects what it can, and puts reporting in place so the next problem is seen early.

Scenario

A family company running out of cash

Payroll is due in five weeks, and the bank will not extend the overdraft.

The situation: A company owned by the family has lost its largest customer. Cash will run out within two months, and the family is being asked to put in more money with no clear view of whether it would help.
What we would do: We build a weekly cash forecast, test the business plan, set out the options from cost reduction to a sale or an orderly wind-down, and meet the bank with the family's advisers.
Where it leaves the family: The family decides whether to invest more on the facts, not under pressure, and knows what each option costs.

Scenario

An investment that has gone quiet

A private company the family backed has stopped reporting.

The situation: The family holds a minority stake in a private company whose last accounts are a year old. A rescue funding round is rumoured, and the family's stake could be diluted or lost.
What we would do: We use the family's rights as a shareholder to obtain information, assess the company's position with the family's lawyers, and set out the choices: support a rescue on agreed terms, sell the stake, or protect what can be protected.
Where it leaves the family: The family acts on information rather than rumour, with its lawyers and a plan beside it.