Company, Restructuring & Insolvency

"A very strong set in terms of how they deal with relationships. They are very geared up and effective when it comes to client handling."


Chambers & Partners

Members of Fountain Court have extensive experience of advising on company, restructuring and insolvency law issues.

Members are retained in actions involving rights and responsibilities under company law (including breaches of fiduciary and directors’ duties) and advise on corporate governance issues generally. They act in shareholder actions (including unfair prejudice petitions and derivative claims), complex company director disqualification proceedings and cross border merger schemes.

Many members also have experience of litigation arising out of corporate insolvency, including the conduct of Administrators, Receivers and Liquidators, and asset recovery proceedings. We act in applications and claims by insolvency officeholders and the Secretary of State, as well as defending former directors, auditors, advisers and bankers. We also regularly act in regulatory investigations arising out of insolvency.

Fountain Court members have acted on some of the most high-profile collapses of recent years, from BCCI and Barings through to Northern Rock, Lehman Brothers and Madoff, and BHS, Toys ‘R’Us, and British Steel.

Our experience often overlaps with areas including employment, insurance, civil fraud, commercial disputes, banking and financial services. We have also recently advised on issues relating to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, in a restructuring and insolvency context.

In addition to the domestic market, members frequently appear in cases involving company and insolvency issues in various overseas common law jurisdictions, including the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Trinidad and Tobago.

Our work includes cases relating to:

  • Breach of directors’ duties
  • Shareholder, boardroom, Limited Liability Partnership and joint venture disputes
  • Unfair prejudice petitions and derivative claims
  • Director disqualification and disciplinary proceedings
  • Regulatory matters
  • M&A disputes
  • Winding-up, administration and schemes of arrangement
  • Applications relating to the conduct of Administrators, Receivers and Liquidators
  • Applications and claims by insolvency officeholders and the Secretary of State
  • Asset recovery proceedings

  • CPS v Aquila Advisory Litigation: Acting in the Supreme Court appeal in which the CPS made a rare intervention in civil proceedings. The case raises important points of law on fiduciary duties, constructive trusts, and criminal confiscation orders, as well as public policy.
  • Stobart Group v Tinkler: Acting in the well-publicised dispute between the board members of the Stobart Group which included allegations of breach of fiduciary duty, conspiracy and shareholder vote rigging.
  • Edwardian Group Shareholder Litigation: Acting for the minority shareholders in an £800 million hotel company in one of the largest shareholder disputes before the English courts.
  • Collapse of Toys 'R' Us: Acting for investors in challenges to security and related proceedings arising from the Toys ‘R’ Us collapse.
  • Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi Brothers v Saad Investments Company Limited: Acting in one of the largest fraud cases resulting from breaches of director’s and fiduciary duties in any common law jurisdiction regarding what the court described as one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history.
  • RBS Rights Issue Litigation: Acting for various parties in a £4 billion claim under s.90 of FSMA against RBS and its directors in relation to its 2008 rights issue and subsequent collapse.
  • Lehman Extended Liens case and Lehman RASCALS case: Representing Lehman Brothers Inc in leading restructuring cases involving determination of how the capital markets work and the nature of liens.
  • Thomas Cook Plc in Liquidation: Acting for the liquidator following the insolvency of Thomas Cook, including in regulatory proceedings before the Civil Aviation Authority and in expedited judicial review proceedings threatened by an airport.
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Company, Restructuring & Insolvency Barristers

Charles Bear QC

Charles Béar KC

Call 1986 | Silk 2003

Timothy Howe QC

Timothy Howe KC

Call 1987 | Silk 2008

Richard Handyside QC

Richard Handyside KC

Call 1993 | Silk 2009

Derrick Dale QC

Derrick Dale KC

Call 1990 | Silk 2010

Akhil Shah QC

Akhil Shah KC

Call 1990 | Silk 2010

Stuart Ritchie QC

Stuart Ritchie KC

Call 1995 | Silk 2012

John Taylor QC

John Taylor KC

Call 1993 | Silk 2013

Ben Valentin QC

Ben Valentin KC

Call 1995 | Silk 2016

Clare Sibson KC

Call 1997 | Silk 2016

Bridget Lucas QC

Bridget Lucas KC

Call 1989 | Silk 2018

Paul Sinclair QC

Paul Sinclair KC

Call 1997 | Silk 2018

Ben Lynch QC

Ben Lynch KC

Call 2001 | Silk 2020

Chloe Carpenter QC

Chloe Carpenter KC

Call 2001 | Silk 2020

Laura John QC

Laura John KC

Call 2001 | Silk 2021

Nik Yeo

Call 2000

Andrew Pullen

Andrew Pullen

Call 2016

Alex Barden

Alex Barden

Call 2005

Daniel Edmonds

Daniel Edmonds

Call 2010

Deborah Horowitz

Deborah Horowitz

Call 2010

Tetyana Nesterchuk

Tetyana Nesterchuk

Call 2011

Philip Ahlquist

Philip Ahlquist

Call 2012

Giles Robertson

Giles Robertson

Call 2012

Joseph Farmer

Joseph Farmer

Call 2013

Laurie Brock

Laurie Brock

Call 2013

Nick Daly

Nick Daly

Call 2014

Ian Bergson

Ian Bergson

Call 2015

Damien Bruneau

Damien Bruneau

Call 2016

Joseph Leech

Joseph Leech

Call 2020

Francesca Ruddy

Call 2020

Daniel Schwennicke

Daniel Schwennicke

Call 2020

Hannah Bernstein

Hannah Bernstein

Call 2020

Kit Holliday

Call 2021

Ian Simester

Call 2022

Sam Hussaini

Call 2022

Charles Redmond

Call 2022

Tiffany Tang

Call 2022

Leah Gardner

Call 2022

Victoria Green

Call 2022

Sebastian Said

Sebastian Said

Call 2004

Michael Brindle QC

Michael Brindle KC

Call 1975 | Silk 1992

Brian Doctor QC

Brian Doctor KC

Call 1991 | Silk 1999

Philip Brook Smith QC

Philip Brook Smith KC

Call 1982 | Silk 2002

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Contact our clerks

For more information on our experience or to discuss a particular case, please contact us.

Call:    +44 (0)207 583 3335
Email: clerks@fountaincourt.co.uk

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