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The debtor is the most important element in bankruptcy proceedings. Hence, their bad financial situation starts the domino effect. Zimmerman & Partners specialises in providing assistance to troubled debtors, in particular to natural persons running their own businesses as well as to small and medium enterprises. Who and how can we help?
If you are a debtor who manages to keep their business afloat but expects their financial situation to worsen in the nearest future (a couple of months) to the point that you will not be able to pay your debts on a regular basis, we are here for you. You will not be able to pay the upcoming loan instalment? You are not able to pay the charged tax? Act before it’s too late!
What do we do? It is possible to quickly reorganise your company under the protection of bankruptcy law. Negotiate an agreement with the creditors, make an arrangement in bankruptcy proceedings. Since 1 January 2016, the Restructuring Law has offered great help. Protection granted under bankruptcy law will help you save your business, get back on your feet, reach an agreement with the creditors and return to the battlefield with reinforcement before the situation turns out critical. And maybe you don’t want to run the business any more? We will help you prepare for smooth and safe closing of your business.
If you are an insolvent debtor, you are not able to pay all your debts on a regular basis, you experience hold-ups in payments, and creditors and bailiffs are knocking at your door, we are here for you. Do you want to save your business? Or maybe you want to close it and at the same time secure yourself and your family from the creditors?
What do we do? You can fight for your company. You can file a bankruptcy petition and at the same indicate the investor who will buy out your enterprise and help you get back on your feet. If you think that your company will pay its way and only temporarily needs help to survive a difficult moment, we can offer you restructuring conducted on the basis of provisions effective as of 1 January 2016 under Restructuring Law. Until you gain protection against bankruptcy, we will help you fight bailiffs. We will help you make arrangements with creditors. Well-prepared petitions are more probable to be supported by the court. A professional adviser will help you reach an agreement with an official receiver, an administrator or an administrative receiver, a court or an insolvency practitioner. We will guide you through a tangle of legal provisions so that you could restructure your company and get back on your feet. And maybe you would like to liquidate your company? We will help you prepare for the bankruptcy, as well as secure your nearest and dearest and your private assets from your company’s creditors.
If a court has already declared the bankruptcy of your company, and you want to save it no matter what, we are here for you. We will help you appeal against the court’s decision on bankruptcy. If it is too late for an appeal, we may assist you in changing the bankruptcy into restructuring and regain control over the company. We will help you draw up a business plan. We will help you overcome the official receiver’s doubts and make the court and creditors believe in your plans. No one fights for their company as fiercely as its owner. We know that best! And maybe you are looking for help with dealing with a receiver who, in your opinion, manages the assets of your Company inappropriately? We will help you come into an agreement.
Proper management of a big company or a capital group requires high business, legal and financial skills. Big companies struggle to overcome problems of a much bigger scale. It is true that the bigger the company, the higher its inertia and the longer time of crisis development, however, only the ones best adapted to market conditions will stay in the game. This means that a company needs to be constantly taken care of, the risks need to be properly managed and to company’s liquidity needs to be continuously monitored. Zimmerman & Partners Law Firm specialises in assisting debtors who struggle with emerging liquidity problems but also those who face really serious threats, even a threat of insolvency. Below we present several examples of situations in which the expertise and professional approach of Zimmerman & Partners may be of help to a troubled company.
The most important thing in case of a financial crisis is an early detection of a threat. If the management board of a company has enough time, it may take proper preventive measures and implement a strategy aiming at improving the situation. Unfortunately, however, the bigger the enterprise or capital group, the bigger its inertia; and thus, the implementation of a remedial strategy takes longer. Every minute counts. Relying on services provided by experts in the field, who know how to interpret legal twists and turns of restructuring proceedings, saves a lot of time. Duly taken actions may avert the threat of insolvency or prepare the company for it. The company may be saved in multiple ways, including by using the instruments given under Bankruptcy Law. As long as you know what your goals are, a professional bankruptcy lawyer will find a perfect solution for you. Sometimes, declaring bankruptcy is the best way out. Controlled bankruptcy of several entities within a group may also be planned in a way that would not affect the remaining entities and would not threaten its board members. It requires a lot of work and commitment but the effort always pays off.
What do we do? We develop multidimensional strategies aimed at saving capital groups, relocating the most valuable assets, conducting controlled bankruptcy of specific entities and protecting the board members. We restructure debts and help change the capital structure in order to maximise the security of key holding companies, their representatives and owners. We prevent debt execution until the implementation of company protection strategy.
Even though the new definition of insolvency, in force as of 1 January 2016, is much more favourable to the debtors and much better adjusted to market conditions, the insolvency situation is still difficult to be dealt with. Even the smallest hold-up in payments may affect the company to such a point that it will lose its ability to settle its liabilities. In such a case a quick and precise action is required. It needs to be settled whether the company is able to recover on its own, or is the protection under Bankruptcy Law or Restructuring Law needed. Taken measures should lead to satisfying creditors claims to the fullest extent possible, saving debtor’s company (if that is the Client’s wish and it is in their best interest, which is not always the case), as well as protecting the board members, owners, co-debtors or the remaining companies within a group. Bankruptcy Law offers many more possibilities to creditors, which means that debtors need to be much better prepared for negotiations. Ongoing control and cooperation with receivers, who are now to a greater extend responsible for their actions on behalf of the bankruptcy estate, are equally important. Immediate action, correct assessment of a situation and fast, accurate problem diagnosis, as well as rigorous consistency in implementing the agreed strategy constitute a key to success (and sometimes to mitigating loss in the case of a potentially hopeless situation).
What do we do? We do not believe that every way hits a dead end. There is a way out of every situation. However, these ways differ from one another in odds for success, risk level and expected profits. You can always do something to increase your chance for success or to mitigate expected loss. Bankruptcy may also turn out to be a chance, provided that you know what to look for in Bankruptcy Law institutions and how to use them. Diligent and well-prepared legal representation of a debtor in bankruptcy proceedings may be very beneficial for them. Professional support may be crucial in the fight against a receiver and creditors and may decide on whether we put an end to a troublesome situation or lose completely. Due preparation will also enable us to protect the board members from potential joint liability for debts, protect the remaining entities within the capital group from bankruptcy, and secure the most valuable assets of the company. Being proactive is essential on each step of the way and allows for the full use of instruments under the Bankruptcy Law and the Restructuring Law to achieve the set goals.
