John is a Partner in our Restructuring and Insolvency practice based in the Leeds office. His particular expertise covers restructuring, reorganisation and business support, lender security reviews and enhancement as well as contentious and non-contentious insolvency and cross-border issues.

John advises banks and other financiers, insolvency practitioners and other insolvency professionals, directors and management teams as well as creditors on all issues arising in stressed and distressed scenarios both within the UK and cross-border.

Chambers describes John as “practical and pragmatic”. Commentators say he “focuses on the end result”. The Legal 500 UK says John is “Amongst the most commercial insolvency lawyers in Leeds”.

John is listed in the 2012 edition of Chambers and Partners' Chambers UK as a leading individual for restructuring and insolvency. He is also listed in the most recent publication of the Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom.

John is a fellow of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals.

Publications

• Commenting on the ISA Daisytek decision, Yorkshire Post
• The EC Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings: streamlining cross-border insolvency? The contrasting approaches of the courts in England and France, International Corporate Rescue Volume 3 Issue 5

Reported Cases 

• Modelboard v Outerbox [1992] BCC 945- retention of title
• Re ISA Daisytek & Others [2003] BCC 562- Centre of Main Interest under the EC Insolvency Regulations
• Re Ci4Net [2005] BCC 277- Centre of Main Interest under the EC Insolvency Regulations
• Re Trident Fashions [2007] ALL ER 437- administrators liability for rates as an expense of administration
• OBG v Allan & Stephenson [2008] 1 AC1- economic torts

Awards

• Endless LLP St Nick Turnaround Awards 2009 and 2010 - Lawyer of the Year
• Yorkshire Lawyer Awards 2010- Corporate Recovery Team of the Year

Representative Experience

• Swayfields Group – Extra Motorway Service Areas – advising management and subsequently partners in PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as administrators of parts of the Swayfields Group including dealing with the disposal of majority of the Group’s operational service stations and its main development site to a subsidiary of M3 Partners.
• Barratts Priceless Shoes - advising the Lloyds Banking Group and subsequently advising the Administrators, Deloitte, in relation to this high profile administration and sale of this national shoe retailer. A substantial portion of the business, which originally comprised circa 200 stores and 200 concessions, was salvaged through a going concern sale to a management backed newco saving 1000 jobs
• Envy/Faith Group – advising management of this national retail group in relation to restructuring of its facilities with its principal lenders, Barclays and Agilo.
• Consort Homes Limited - acting on behalf of the administrators KPMG appointed by The Lloyds Banking Group over this national house builder to recover the outstanding bank debt of circa £25m. Throughout 2011 a programme of sales was effected, with assistance from GVA, and by the end of 2011 sales of all of the properties and the development sites were successfully completed.
• Past Times Limited – advising the company’s management, its private equity funder and KPMG as administrators in relation to this distressed national high street retailer of historic memorabilia.