A cross-practice London Restructuring and Structured Finance team from international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges has advised long-standing global client Barclays Bank on the restructuring of the General Healthcare Group (“GHG“), which trades as BMI Healthcare. With over £1.5 billion of debt, a wide array of divergent stakeholders and fluctuating market valuations, this restructuring commenced in 2013 with Weil fielding a team drawn from its Structured Finance, Restructuring, Real Estate and Dispute Resolution practices. The restructuring closed on 29 May 2015.
The core Weil team was led by London Restructuring partner Adam Plainer and Structured Finance partner Jacky Kelly, supported by Restructuring senior associate Tom McKay and Structured Finance partner Brian Maher. Dispute Resolution partner Jamie Maples and associate Matt Akers, Rupert Jones (Head of London Real Estate), Kirsty Ewer, Alex Hewitt and Lindsay Merritt (all Restructuring) and Andrew Wilkinson, Delyth Hughes and Kristine Kozicki (all Structured Finance) were also part of our cross-practice team.
On the closing of the restructuring, London partner Adam Plainer commented: “Our approach was driven by the need to find solutions to the legal and commercial issues that arose during the life of the restructuring. The complexity of the capital structure, divergent stakeholder interests and uncertainties in the underlying documentation resulted in complex, heavily negotiated transaction documents. Our experience of similar recent restructurings, such as Punch Taverns, together with Jacky Kelly’s vast experience in the securitisation market since its inception, places us at the forefront of the industry and has helped us to deliver Barclays with leading advice on this matter.“