Mark Smith

Mark has over 16 years of refinancing and restructuring experience, working with clients globally across a range of industries including shipping, oil & gas, mining, retail, steel, construction, and manufacturing.

Mark specialises in advising lenders and borrowers in stressed and distressed situations across multiple jurisdictions. His primary areas of focus and expertise are business plan reviews, short-term cash flow reviews, appraisals of lender options, contingency planning, and negotiating restructuring proposals, often with diverse and complex stakeholder groups.

Mark’s notable assignments include:

• Advising the lenders to a UK logistics and distribution company through an accelerated M&A process to recapitalise the group and support liquidity.
• Advising the lenders of a UK high-street retail chain through a debt restructure to provide sufficient liquidity to implement the long-term turnaround and repositions of the brand.
• Supporting a UK based global helicopter business through a Chapter 11 reorganisation.
• Advising the lenders of a stressed upstream oil & gas group to develop and implement a proposal to allow for an exit of their exposure at par.
• Advising an international group of lenders to a German food manufacturer to assess support options and develop a plan to implement a turnaround utilising local restructuring tools and financial support.
• Advising a UK private medical provider to reschedule loan facilities.
• Advising the pension creditors of a distressed listed UK contracting group.
• Assisting the lenders of a distressed UK restaurant chain through a debt-for-equity rescue.
• Advising the senior lenders of a Norwegian offshore business on debt restructuring options and organisational changes to improve the lenders recovery whilst supporting the business through the downturn.
• Assisting a stressed UK business to renew its £80 million RCF facility with its existing lenders.
• Development of a de-leveraging package for a large European steel business to accompany a refinancing and operational turnaround.
• Contingency planning for a large European steel manufacturer to support an emergency funding proposal and liability reduction arrangement with creditors.
• Advising the lenders of a European M&E contractor to assess the need for emergency funding and manage the accelerated M&A.
• Advising the mezzanine lenders of a Dutch retailer on a debt-for-equity conversion.
• Assisting a retailer to manage liquidity and develop a supply chain solution following a reduction in credit insurance.

In addition to experience as an advisor, Mark spent 15 months on secondment with a global financial services firm in both the Special Situations (Loan Management) team and the Leverage Finance team. Mark was primarily responsible for a portfolio of distressed and challenged relationships, which included developing and implementing a de-leveraging programme, the sale of a business following a debt-for-equity restructuring and a partial sub-ordination of debt to allow for new facilities to be provided in order to support a successful turnaround.