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CORPORATE RECOVERY
The easy availability of debt in years gone by meant ailing companies often
confused refinancing with restructuring. Huron Consulting’s Alain Le Berre tells
Patrizia Rossi what it really takes to make a business commercially viable
On the mend
T
here is no place to hide for For Le Berre, this is never going to Le Berre says the UK division of
companies running into trouble be satisfactory. Instead, if a company is the firm has worked with “eight
in this day and age. Alain Le finding itself in an increasingly weakened different companies in as many
Berre, MD of global giant Huron position, there must be a thorough months” in a number of sectors.
Consulting Group, doesn’t necessarily appraisal of where the problems lie and a These include retail, oil and gas,
think this is a bad thing. After all, pragmatic solution applied. “A bad case of automotive, biotech and financial
responsible business leaders should financial restructuring is when a company investment. “All of these companies
always be willing to face the facts. comes back 18 to 24 months down the have turnovers of various sizes, but
“Between 2004 and 2007, companies line wanting more restructuring advice.” each one has an international presence,”
were not being restructured, they were If the restructuring is done correctly, he comments.
simply getting refinanced,” says Le Berre,
who earned his stripes at the Close
Brothers European Special Situations
team in London and the Big Four
“Many of those refinancing deals failed to properly address
professional services firm, Ernst & Young. the underlying root causes of those business failures”
“Many of those refinancing deals failed
Alain Le Berre
to properly address the underlying root
causes of those business failures,” he
continues. “They failed to provide reasons Le Berre, “your client is not The types of services in this area
sustainable restructuring solutions.” going to come back to you when you seem range from providing strategic planning,
A lot of companies are now paying to be finished”. This approach seems to company assessments, crisis stabilisation
the price of simply replacing one debt paying off at Huron, which posted and liquidity management and cash flow
structure with another one. “What revenue of $615 million for its most forecasting, right through to providing
happened wasn’t restructuring in recent year-end – it reached number 43 in interim managers (CEO, CFO, COO)
the proper sense,” he says. “All Fortune magazine’s list of the 100 fastest- to bank loan refinancing and cost
those companies were doing was growing companies – and it now has over reduction initiatives. For Le Berre,
creating a short-term solution to 2,000 employees across the US, Europe, the key to getting a company back on
a long-term problem.” the Middle East and South-East Asia. track is to align both the operational
28 Mergers & Acquisitions
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