IPA exclusive industry update from Insolvency Insider
IPA Insolvency Practitioner newsletter, August 2025
A specially curated selection of the top stories for IPA members from Insolvency Insider Editor, Dina Kovacevic. More information on all the stories and the link to subscribe to the newsletter is here.
Appointments
River Island, a High Street fashion retailer, has had its Part 26A restructuring plan sanctioned by the High Court. The company had been struggling in recent years due to a customer shift towards online shopping and higher operating costs. Absent the restructuring plan, which contemplates both a financial and leasehold estate restructuring, River Island said it could have run out of cash by the end of August. Under the plan, 33 stores will be closed and rents will be reduced at 71 locations, with landlord negotiations due to commence shortly. River Island’s financial advisers were led by Zelf Hussain and Matt McErlane of PwC. The relevant alternative report was prepared by a Grant Thornton team led by Andy Charters and including Shane Smith and Thomas Edgley-Tricks. Greenberg Taurig (with a team including Aaron Harlow, John Houghton, Rupert Cheetham, Kevin Mulligan, Adam Potter, Nazmul Miah and Jack Naftalin) advised River Island, while the company’s counsel team were Matthew Weaver KC of Radcliffe Chambers and Matthew Abraham of South Square.
Oakman Inns and Restaurants Limited, a Hertfordshire-based pub and hotel chain, had certain assets purchased out of administration by Upham Inns. The company entered administration on 21 July after struggling to recover from forced closures during the pandemic, as well as rising energy and food costs and decreased customer spending in the post-pandemic period. Shortly following their appointment, joint administrators Mark Banfield, Tom Crookham and Ross Connock of PwC completed a sale of 13 leasehold locations and one freehold site to Uphams Inns, saving over 530 jobs. Unfortunately, six sites were not included in the sale, resulting in 159 redundancies. Santander UK PLC and Warrant Estates Limited have registered charges against the company.
Adarma Limited, an Edinburgh-based cybersecurity firm, entered administration on 14 July. Will Wright and Alistair McAlinden of Interpath were appointed joint administrators and said that the company, which had built a strong reputation in the cybersecurity sector, faced intense competition, rising operational costs, and a continual need for investment. Sustained margin and cashflow pressures ultimately proved insurmountable, and the company entered administration. Trading has ceased and over 170 staff have been made redundant. Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland have registered charges against the company.
Recent articles
Dan Gilligan of Eversheds Sutherland provides insights into how a court will determine a former tenant’s continuing liability under an authorised guarantee agreement post-assignment of a new tenancy and where a lease has been disclaimed by a liquidator.
Stephen Phillips of FreiLibertas talks to Nick Kitchin of Gordon Brothers about how he structures deals, the various mechanisms for debt restructuring in the UK and in Europe, and the jurisdictions he considers more or less appealing for distressed investment.
Patrick Schumann and Jonathan Swil of King & Spalding take a commercial approach to dissecting the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Petrofac, sharing that out of the money creditors may well have a seat at the table despite having no economic interest in the distressed business prior to implementation of the restructuring plan.