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Martin Brown

Partner

Portrait ofMartin Brown

Martin Brown

Partner

Contact
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Cannon Place
78 Cannon Street
London
EC4N 6AF
United Kingdom
Languages English, French

Martin is the Head of CMS’s UK Restructuring & Insolvency team, with over 20 years’ experience of advising creditors, debtors and insolvency practitioners on all aspects of financial restructurings and non-litigious aspects of formal insolvency proceedings. He also advises special situation investors on their investments, including the acquisition of non-performing loan portfolios, single credits and distressed businesses.

Based in London, Martin qualified in 2000 and has been a partner since 2008. His experience includes a secondment to a leading UK bank’s work-out team.  He is ranked as a leading individual for restructuring and insolvency by both Legal 500 and Chambers, described as ‘a class act. He is absolutely exceptional - he reads circumstances and situations very well’.

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Relevant experience

  • Project Altrincham – advised a club of five banks on the £250m RCF it had made available to a listed national car retailer which encountered financial and regulatory difficulties.
  • Oak Furnitureland – advised a special situation investor on its loan to own acquisition of this national retailer and a related financial restructuring.
  • Intu – advised one of the key lenders to Intu, including advice in relation to the proposed group-wide standstill and thereafter on certain bespoke transitional service arrangements and a legal structure to enable a managed exit for the lender in relation to two shopping centres.
  • Project Tennessee – advised a well-known package holiday business on the restructuring of its balance sheet as part of a consensual transaction with its senior lenders, sponsor and the CAA.
  • Project Eight – advised a club of five lenders on its £175m facility to a national commercial vehicle leasing business over an 18-month period following various defaults, culminating in a successful sale to a financial institution.
  • Project Serlby – advised a special situation investor on its acquisition of a portfolio of loans secured against various property company interests in care homes and the subsequent work-out of the value in those assets.
  • Carillion – advised a range of stakeholders on major issues arising from this high-profile compulsory liquidation. 
  • Flybe plc – advised the trustees of the Flybe pension scheme on the company’s restructuring proposals, its rescue by the Connect Airways consortium and subsequent administration.
  • Fairfield Energy Group – advised the Fairfield Group in relation to the restructuring of US$1.5bn debt and related oil and gas matters.
  • TM Lewin – advised the lender on a sale of its debt to a fund that effected a restructuring and pre-packaged administration sale to keep the business trading as a going concern.
  • Carpetright plc – advised a club of banks on a financial restructuring that this national listed retailer went through in 2019 which included the use of a CVA and a rights issue, and thereafter advised the banks on the sale of their positions to a special situation investor.
  • A national dental practice – advised a group on the restructuring of its leveraged finance facilities, leading to a solvent sale with equity return.
  • Project Owl – advised a club of three banks in relation to the restructuring of their £110m of credit facilities to a chain of 12 ‘Holiday Inn’ branded hotels which included the banks taking 95% of the equity from the sponsor. 
  • Phones 4U group – advised ING as the security trustee for bondholders and banks.
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Education

  • 1997 – LPC, The College of Law, Chester
  • 1996 - LLB Law with French, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham
  • 1995 - Diplôme d’Etudes Juridiques Françaises, L’Université de Limoges 
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Expertise

Feed

28/11/2023
Leveraged finance: handling an impending financial covenant breach
A forecast breach of a financial covenant is often an early warning sign that a business is not performing to plan. Unless self-help remedies are open to the borrower, lenders will have an opportunity...
Publication
19/01/2023
ABT Auto Investments Ltd v Aapico Investment Pte Ltd – importance of agreeing...
In this Law-Now we discuss the recent case of ABT Auto Investments Ltd v Aapico Investment Pte Ltd [2022] EWHC 2839 (Comm) which involved the remedy of appropriation, an enforcement option available under...
Law-Now Restructuring & Insolvency
12/01/2023
Companies in distress: directors’ duties and helpful tools
When a company is in financial difficulty, the responsibilities and duties of its directors can change, depending on the financial position of the company. There are scenarios in which directors must have regard to the interests of creditors and potentially even prioritise those over the interests of shareholders. If the applicable duties are not properly discharged, directors can face personal liability and/or dis­qual­i­fic­a­tion. The CMS briefing, Companies in distress: directors’ duties and helpful tools, outlines the risks for directors, practical steps that can be taken to avoid personal liability and the tools available to help with restructuring and rescue of companies in distress.
Publication
10/10/2022
Supreme Court rules on nature and timing of directors’ duty to consider...
The Supreme Court’s long-awaited decision in the Sequana case (handed down on 5 October 2022)[1] is the first time that the UK’s highest court has been asked to consider the proposition that directors...
Law-Now Restructuring & Insolvency
05/10/2022
The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act – consequences for...
The land registration elements of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act (“ECTEA”) came into force on 5 September 2022, 5 weeks after the new Companies House Register of Overseas Entities...
Law-Now Restructuring & Insolvency
23/02/2021
Company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
A CVA is a powerful formal restructuring tool that can be used by a debtor company to impose a compromise on unsecured creditors who will not compromise con­sen­su­ally. In 2020, the first full year of...
Publication
26/01/2021
Brexit – Consequences for Creditors’ Enforcement Options
The UK left the European Union (EU) on 31 January 2020, but it is only now, after the transition period (which ended on 31 December 2020) that creditors start grappling with the effect of Brexit on distressed...
Publication
04/01/2021
Law and regulation of Covid-19 loan moratoriums in the UK
1. Description of the legislation 1.1 Is there a moratorium on loans legislation implemented in your jurisdiction? No. 1.2 If no: Are there any ongoing discussions regarding a potential introduction...
Expert Guide Banking & Finance
Comparable
30/11/2020
The return of Crown preference from 1 December 2020
What are the new provisions? For almost 20 years, the Crown has been an unsecured non-preferential creditor in respect of all sums owing to it. However, in respect of certain insolvency processes where...
Law-Now Restructuring & Insolvency
13/10/2020
A new option for financially distressed companies: the new restructuring...
For many years, a financially distressed company unable to agree a consensual restructuring with its key creditors had only two formal options available to it under English law as part of seeking to...
Guide
01/07/2020
Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020
This briefing note was originally published on 01 July 2020 and has been updated to reflect the law as at 13 October 2020. Introduction On 20 May 2020, the UK Government published the Corporate Insolvency...
Law-Now Coronavirus (COVID-19)
21/05/2020
Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill 2020
This article states the position as at 21 May 2020. An article reflecting subsequent changes to the law can be read here. Introduction On 28 March 2020, the UK Government announced upcoming insolvency...
Law-Now Coronavirus (COVID-19)
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