Chris Allen

Chris specialises in corporate advisory, restructuring and turnaround, advising boards and a range of stakeholders in stressed and distressed situations.

Experience

Chris has over 20 years’ experience of undertaking a wide variety of advisory assignments, accelerated M&A processes, independent business reviews, 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

Professional qualifications/memberships

Licensed to act as an Insolvency Practitioner by the ICAEW
Member of R3 trade association for the UK's insolvency and restructuring professionals

Car dealership

Article

The JLR cyber attack: Motor industry supply chains and beyond

Businesses connected to the motor industry supply chain need to evaluate their exposure to both bad debt and supply chain interruptions in the wake of the JLR cyber-attack and the First Brands collapse.

Tom Partridge

Article

Busy with retirement: S&W’s new hire helping clients find fresh solutions for pensions

The UK’s defined benefit pensions schemes may be maturing, but they’re always changing – and challenging. Companies and trustees have more options than ever, explains S&W’s new pensions practice leader.

Contact Chris