England - South East • Finance

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Insolvency and corporate recovery

Cripps

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In Tunbridge Wells, Cripps houses a ‘highly technical’ team, which regularly assists clients with pre-insolvency matters in addition to pre-sale restructurings, solvent schemes of arrangements, and voluntary arrangements of companies. The practice advises a diverse client roster, which includes waste management, fintech, and manufacturing companies. Praised for her ‘attention to detail’, Joanna Ford leads the team, often acting in claims of misfeasance and wrongful trading against directors, in addition to assisting companies in financial difficulty. With ‘considerable experience and knowledge’, John Kirkwood focuses on the corporate elements of the insolvency process, and has a great deal of knowledge surrounding the selling and acquisition of insolvent businesses, while senior associate Hannah Proctor primarily focuses on contentious insolvency matters, often appearing before the High Court. In early 2024, the firm merged with Horsham-based firm PDT Solicitors, which added the expertise of William Angas, Dawn Shadwell, Ian Lindley and Craig Burton.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Cripps have a very connected team. They pull in experts across the practice as needed and are very clear where their specialisms stop.'

  • ‘Joanna Ford understands the challenges of stakeholder management. Her advice was clear and concise. Joanna's attention to detail saves time and keeps things moving. I would have no hesitation in recommending or using Cripps again.’

  • ‘The team provide exceptional client service and are highly responsive. They are highly technical but able to explain complex concepts in an understandable and practical way.’

  • ‘Joanna Ford and John Kirkwood play an integral part in achieving successful outcomes.’

  • ‘Joanna Ford and John Kirkwood put considerable time and effort in to get very complex transactions over the line. Their considerable experience and knowledge is vital to ensure all the hurdles to completing sales are overcome in a very short time. As well as the work itself, it was a pleasure working them, they were very driven, friendly and accessible.’

  • ‘Katie Haylock is fantastic. Extremely personable and knowledgeable, super responsive and diligent, a pleasure to work with and just all round positive character.’

  • ‘Personal, efficient practice which works well together. Would recommend particularly for large, complex commercial projects.’

Key clients

  • Crowe U.K. LLP
  • Cadogan Estates Limited
  • Greenbox Recycling (Kent) Limited
  • FRP Advisory Trading Limited
  • Quantuma LLP
  • BDO LLP
  • Davidson Roberts Holdings Limited
  • Moore Kingston Smith & Partners LLP
  • Hillborough Properties Limited
  • Evelyn Partners LLP

Work highlights

  • Advised on the administration and subsequent business and asset sale of fintech company Oval Money Ltd, together with its Spanish subsidiary.
  • Acted for Greenbox Recycling Limited, a waste management company, and one of its directors, defending a misfeasance claim estimated to be worth millions of pounds in the High Court, including a subsequent appeal in the Court of Appeal.
  • Acted for Chromalloy Gas Turbine LLC on a complex international reorganisation as a precursor to the sales of Trac Mexico Limited to Walbar Engine Components (US) and Trac Group Limited to RCapital (UK).

Lawyers

Next Generation Partners

Joanna Ford

Joanna Ford

Cripps

A Partner in the commercial dispute resolution team, Joanna has particular expertise in high value restructuring and insolvency matters, disputes involving IT and technology contracts, and shareholder/corporate governance issues. Her insolvency work includes claims against directors, including misfeasance and wrongful trading, acting for insolvency practitioners, creditors (including landlords affected by CVAs) and companies in financial difficulties. She also has a wider commercial dispute resolution practice with a focus on shareholder and corporate governance issues, and manages litigation work for several of our larger corporate clients.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Joanna Ford

Other key lawyers

John Kirkwood, Hannah Proctor, Katie Haylock, William Angas, Dawn Shadwell, Ian Lindley, Ben Ashworth, Craig Burton

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