James Bennett is a Senior Managing Director with Teneo’s Financial Advisory business, based in London. James brings over 20 years of experience leading complex restructuring assignments across a variety of jurisdictions.
James specialises in contentious and complex work with cross-border elements and focuses on extracting value in distressed situations. He works across all sectors and has extensive experience in financial services.
James has taken many formal insolvency appointments and was the first Special Administrator to a UK electronic money institution. He has also led complex financial restructuring engagements, as well as solvent wind down/exits. In addition to taking formal appointments, James has also led numerous contingency planning projects and has advised lenders to systemically important UK businesses.
Prior to joining Teneo, James was a Managing Director of Interpath in London (formerly KPMG’s restructuring business in the UK), where he led complex contentious and non-contentious projects.
Prior to Interpath, James was with KPMG in London, where he was seconded to a European bank in Cyprus following a liquidity crisis and was involved in a major turnaround project for the Bank. James also spent seven years in Bermuda with KPMG working across many sectors, including being appointed as Joint Liquidator to various telecoms entities.
James is a Chartered Certified accountant with degrees in both law and accounting and is also a qualified licensed insolvency practitioner. He advises on all aspects of restructuring — including schemes of arrangement, restructuring plans, contingency planning, options analysis and crisis response — and takes formal insolvency appointments in the UK and offshore.
Selected Project Experience:
- Project Shelter – Acted for a UK lender in a securitised property portfolio; agreed to a consensual multi-stakeholder restructuring valued at more than £1bn.
- Floatel International Ltd. – Provided contingency planning and options analysis alongside valuation support and reporting to the court in Bermuda; led to a comprehensive fully consensual balance sheet restructuring via a Scheme of Arrangement.
- European Bank – Seconded to a European bank to support its turnaround, including NPE loan restructurings and portfolio analysis, as well as new loan issuance.
- China Fisheries Restructuring Plan – Acted as Claims Assessor of a class of lenders in this complex plan.
- Noble Group – Acted for the Scheme Advisor and Scheme Adjudicator to this global commodity trader during its 2019 global restructuring.
- Noble Corporation – Joint Liquidator for the UK entities following the completion of their successful Chapter 11 restructuring.
- Project Carpe – Assisted the offshore bankruptcy trustee to realise assets, including the sale of multiple holiday resorts and pursuit by litigation in the UK against former advisors.
- Project Victoria – Provided contingency planning for a global construction business leading to a consensual restructuring.
- Project Pier – Provided contingency planning for a strategically important UK oil refinery.
- Project Zander – Provided contingency planning for a large UK distributor of tobacco and other fast consumer goods to retailers.
- Digicel – Scheme Advisor and Joint Liquidator of various telecoms entities.
- Project Mars – Completed an Independent Business Review and contingency planning for an investment bank lending into a European telecoms business in advance of a restructuring through a Luxembourg holding structure.
- Project Maryland – Acted for the Security Trustee providing a fairness opinion on this large UK retail restructuring.
- Viola Money Europe Limited – First Special Administrator to a UK electronic money institution under the PESAR regime.
- Project Michler – Acted for a global manufacturer responding to a loss-making UK subsidiary with a considerable pension overhang.