Restructuring & Insolvency

Liedekerke’s Restructuring & Insolvency practice is well known for its capacity to handle complex and cross-border insolvency matters, including litigation and advisory work on all aspects of insolvency law and restructuring transactions.

Economic and financial turmoil, a growing inflation, rising raw material prices, a fast changing business environment largely influenced by organisational and digital transformation, and unforeseen crisis such as the recent pandemic and the war in Ukraine create significant market disruptions and bring challenges to all companies, regardless of their sector of activity.

Bankruptcies around the world have grown dramatically and so have procedures to restructure financially distressed businesses.

Our Services

Our team has extensive expertise in complex cross-border and domestic insolvency matters.

We assist all stakeholders (creditors, debtors, candidate-buyers) in

• out of court restructurings

• bankruptcy proceedings

• judicial reorganisation proceedings

• distressed M&A

• contingency planning

• attachments/seizures and summary proceedings

• directors liability cases

• asset tracing & recovery / fraud cases

Our strong academic ties enable us to follow up closely on (international) developments and new insights and deliver pragmatic and out of the box solutions.

We can draw on the expertise from our international network of preferred firms, enabling us to provide effective cross-border assistance whenever necessary. We work closely with experts in other practice areas such as corporate/M&A, banking and finance, fraud & compliance and energy.

Our Clients

Our clients include major multinational companies as well as domestic companies. Our clients operate in a large variety of sectors, such as transport and aviation, telecommunications, retail, banking, private equity, insurance, automotive, manufacturing and media sectors.

Our Team

With 1 partner and 3 associates, our team can rapidly deploy its expertise both in advisory and litigation matters.

Our lawyers are fluent in English, French and Dutch. Members of our team are regular speakers at national and international insolvency law conferences. They publish frequently in the field of insolvency law.

Our Relevant Experience

• Assisting the former ultimate beneficiary of a Belgian aluminium manufacturer, in relation to the restructuring and refinancing of the group and in relation to litigation with the lenders.

• Assisting and advising a governmental energy regulator in relation to insolvency proceedings of a Belgian energy supplier.

• Advising and assisting an Iraqi oil company in relation to a conservatory third party garnishment.

• Advising a major Belgian telecommunication company on insolvency cases of mobile virtual network operators.

• Advising a major airline company on the restructuring of its activities in the COVID-19 crisis.

• Advising retailers facing insolvency on negotiations with landlords.

• Advising a UK and Ireland-based radiator manufacturer, on the bankruptcy proceedings of its Belgian subsidiary.

• Assisting a New-York based private equity firm in the recovery of its 11 million USD loan against a Belgium based real estate developer.

• Assisting a UK based mortgage servicing firm in relation to attachment proceedings and bankruptcy proceedings against the borrower.

Awards & Recognition

‘‘The team is fantastic and our go-to firm in Belgium for high quality insolvency and restructuring advice.’

‘The team’s dedication to the client and the quality of its work is really exceptional. They are proactive and consistent in their approach, with good advice. The response times are incredible and the advice is well thought-out.’

Legal 500, Insolvency & Restructuring, 2022

‘Roel Fransis and his team have technical expertise and great commercial awareness and knowledge of the court insolvency process in Belgium, which makes cross-border working with the team seamless.’

‘The team is high-quality and does an excellent job. We receive the information requested in good time and the partners are also available. The team also has good business understanding.’

Legal 500, Insolvency & Restructuring, 2021

Roel Fransis has the ability to ‘effectively convey Belgian legal concepts to the uninitiated’.

Legal 500, Insolvency & Restructuring, 2018