Women in Restructuring 2025 conference
At the GRR: Women in Restructuring 2025 conference, leading practitioners dissected the year’s most significant developments in global insolvency and restructuring. Here, we distill the essential legal and market insights shaping the future of distressed debt, regulated business workouts, directors’ duties, private credit, and restructuring tools.
Year in review: global volatility and legal turning points
2025 has been a year where volatility became the norm, not the exception. Geopolitical shocks, persistent inflation, and sector-specific turbulence have left many corporates—especially in capital-intensive sectors—scrambling for liquidity and strategic alternatives. The result: a surge in distressed debt opportunities and a wave of high-profile restructurings across the US, UK, and Europe.
The legal landscape is evolving in real time. In the UK, landmark appeals in cases such as Thames Water and Petrofac are set to redefine the allocation of post-restructuring value, particularly between senior and junior creditors.
Liability management exercises (LMEs) have rapidly migrated from the US to Europe, fundamentally reshaping the restructuring playbook on this side of the pond. Panelists noted that recent and high-profile examples include Altice.
These transactions, along with others such as Stonegate, Ardagh, and Hunkemöller, illustrate how sponsors and shareholders are now routinely utilising opportunities presented by the flexibility in their finance documents. What was once considered an outlier is now the norm, with increasingly sophisticated strategies—double and triple dips, hunter-gatherer arrangements, and other US-imported techniques—being deployed across the European market.
The growing prevalence of these tools signals a clear trend: the old assumption that non-pro rata deals would be blocked by European legal and regulatory frameworks is under real pressure. As these US-style LMEs become embedded in European practice, the message for market participants, as stated by a panelist, is unmistakable: if you’re not on the table, you’re on the menu.
Beyond compliance: restructuring regulated businesses
Restructuring regulated entities is a delicate balancing act, requiring early and sustained engagement with regulators. The approach for insolvency practitioners, legal, and financial advisers has matured: regulatory engagement is now a strategic necessity, not a procedural afterthought. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and other sectoral regulators have issued updated guidance, clarifying expectations and encouraging early dialogue to avoid unnecessary court applications that can delay distributions and escalate costs.
Recent cases—such as Thames Water, Bulb Energy, and the growing list of e-pay and fintech firms facing distress—highlight the need for modern, robust special administration regimes. Regulators are increasingly stepping into active roles, sometimes even supplanting the need for court or creditor approval in distribution plans.
Looking forward, experts at the conference anticipate tighter regulation in fast-moving sectors like crypto, digital infrastructure, and AI, with a focus on financial stability and consumer protection. The clear takeaway: practitioners must involve stakeholders and regulators from the outset and maintain open lines of communication throughout the process.
The evolving role of directors’ duties
Directors’ duties in insolvency are under renewed scrutiny, particularly as the EU advances its harmonisation directive on insolvency law. This initiative could recalibrate the balance between directors’ obligations to the company and their duties to creditors, especially in the “zone of insolvency.”
For example, Spanish law requires directors to prioritise creditors’ interests and act swiftly to avoid personal liability, while France maintains a company-centric approach, and Ireland (similar to the UK) only requires directors to consider creditors’ interests when insolvency is imminent or probable.
Cross-border restructurings add further complexity. Multinational groups must navigate a patchwork of legal standards, with directors potentially facing liability in multiple jurisdictions if they fail to act promptly or seek appropriate advice. The practical lesson: generic, one-size-fits-all advice is insufficient. Boards must secure tailored, jurisdiction-specific guidance and rigorously document their decision-making, particularly as insolvency risk increases.
A new dawn or status quo? Private credit’s impact on restructuring
Private credit has become a defining force in the restructuring landscape, bringing both innovation and new risks. As default rates rise and covenant-lite financing becomes standard, the market is watching closely: will the proliferation of private credit lead to fewer formal court-led restructurings, or simply more complex ones? Hybrid capital and bespoke financing arrangements—such as preferred equity, convertible debt, and contingent debt rights—are now commonplace, blurring the lines between debt and equity.
The bespoke nature of private credit documentation can create gaps in creditor protections and heighten litigation risk. For practitioners, the imperative is to understand the nuances of each structure, anticipate enforcement challenges, and act with agility. The best opportunities will accrue to those who combine legal creativity with a deep understanding of evolving market dynamics.
Conclusion
As the restructuring landscape grows ever more complex, legal advisers must combine technical expertise with commercial acumen and cross-border awareness. The lessons from the first half of 2025 are clear: those who anticipate change, engage early with stakeholders, and tailor their strategies to the evolving market will be best positioned to deliver successful outcomes for clients in the year ahead.
