Chris Allen, Director

Chris specialises in corporate advisory, restructuring and turnaround, advising boards and a range of stakeholders in stressed and distressed situations, and employer covenant assessments and advice related to defined benefit pension schemes.

Experience

Chris has over 20 years’ experience of undertaking a wide variety of advisory assignments, accelerated M&A processes, independent business reviews, pensions covenant assessments and being appointed insolvency practitioner (administrator or liquidator) on formal insolvency appointments.

He has worked across a wide range of industries, including the financial services, education, not for profit, manufacturing, construction and retail sectors.

Notable client work and achievements

Appointed as joint administrator of Rowanmoor Personal Pension Limited, an FCA regulated self-invested personal pension (SIPP) operator/administration business. Having undertaken an accelerated sales process and traded in administration, a successful sale of the business to another regulated operator was completed, maintaining services to over 5,000 clients and preserving the staff's jobs
Project Alfa (an independent school) – undertaking a short notice IBR and options review followed by an accelerated sale and marketing exercise. This resulted in the successful sale of the school’s business and assets to a new overseas proprietor outside a formal insolvency process. It meant the lender recovered its debt in full and payment in full of all unsecured creditor claims in the subsequent liquidation.
Multiple IBRs and a further levelling up exercise for the Arts Council England on applicants to the DCMS Culture Recovery Fund – Repayable Finance (CRF), part of a £2 billion financial support package for high profile cultural organisations that were financially stable before Covid-19 but at imminent risk of failure due to the pandemic. This assisted in the provision of CRF loans to applicants to enable a transition back to financial sustainability
Advising pension scheme trustees and the PPF on the suitability of a Company Voluntary Arrangement proposed by the sponsoring employer and maximising the return to the PPF against its s75 debt