News
Ankura Launches European Restructuring Practice
September 24, 2021
Global advisory firm appoints a team of senior professionals to lead European Turnaround & Restructuring practice as Ankura continues global expansion
London, United Kingdom, September 24, 2021 – Ankura Consulting, a leading global advisory firm, today announced the launch of its European restructuring practice that works with businesses across various industries facing complex challenges as the advisory market continues its evolution and the economy looks to rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The launch is the latest step in Ankura’s international expansion following the recent opening of its first office in Germany in early June. The European Turnaround & Restructuring (“T&R”) practice aligns with Ankura’s strategy of supporting clients with local, highly qualified teams with deep experience, providing businesses with access to independent experts and advisory services.
The European practice will be led by Senior Managing Directors, Donald Featherstone, Scott Millar, and Mark Hawken, who bring an excess of 60 years of combined experience, having worked on some of the most high-profile cases in recent years.
The initial tranche of Senior Managing Directors will be supported by a team of eight experienced restructuring professionals, who bring a blend of operating and financial expertise from leading consultancies and organizations. Our new practitioners include Managing Directors, Craig Bowen, Mark Smith, and Mark Menon; Senior Directors, Mark Christiansen, Barry Hopkins, and Nick Edwards; and Directors, Gyusub Chung and Joshua Edwards.
The European T&R team boasts multiple decades of experience, including the restructuring of over £100 billion in debt, as well as having worked on some of Europe’s most high-profile turnaround and restructuring cases including: Lehman Brothers, Eastman Kodak, Cooperative Group, Worldpay, MFI Furniture, Interserve, Swinton Insurance, Fitness First, Hibu, Stemcor, Slater & Gordon, Vion Foods, Albemarle and Bond, and Bluewater Energy Services. Ankura is currently serving as restructuring advisor to Global Brands Group.
Donald Featherstone, Senior Managing Director, said: “The economy is at a pivotal moment. Over the past 18 months, businesses have experienced significant upheaval, but now they are beginning to look ahead and will require a different kind of turnaround and restructuring support. We believe this represents a significant gap in the advisory market that Ankura’s practice has been built to provide. This is already one of the most impressive groups of senior restructuring professionals in the market. Our team has strategic, commercial, and operational expertise with experience of delivering sustainable solutions. We will build it out further, announcing other exceptional senior hires in the coming months, which will complete our interim management, company, and creditor-side capabilities
Scott Millar, Senior Managing Director, commented: “We are fortunate to not only attract the best senior level professionals, but also the next generation of leaders in the profession. The growth of our practice over the coming years will be driven as much by the development of our team as it is by external recruiting.
Philip Gund, Ankura’s Global Head of Turnaround & Restructuring noted: “We are excited to welcome our colleagues in Europe as we continue to expand our global footprint. Our US team has been involved in a number of high-profile engagements since our inception in 2016, including SunEdison, Exide Technologies, Brooks Brothers, Intelsat and Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority and Electric Power Authority. We look forward to collaborating in bringing solutions to our internationally based clients and other cross-border opportunities as well as further building on our Global T&R capabilities.
Simon Michaels, Ankura Chairman EMEA and APAC, added: “The distressed advisory market is ripe for disruption. It’s clear that companies across a multitude of sectors require a level of support that extends beyond pure financial restructuring. This launch is also an important part of Ankura’s international expansion. This growth and development are crucial to ensure we can continue to protect, create, and restore value for our clients.”
Since its founding in 2014 in the US, Ankura, has achieved significant annual growth and currently employs more than 1,500 professionals across 35 locations worldwide advising corporates on complex business challenges across multiple industries. This advice ranges from performance issues to acute crises and legal disputes. One of the key drivers for Ankura’s growth is the structural change in the audit and advisory market with regulatory pressure on established firms worldwide creating space for a new, significant independent player.
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