London, England, United Kingdom
Nick has been helping stakeholders protect and rebuild value for over 25 years. His experience is broad having worked across numerous industries and jurisdictions. Since 2013 Nick has focused exclusively on the Financial Services sector, where he supports: • Bank’s rebuild capital and clean up asset quality problems; • Investors acquire and monetise distressed assets; • Servicers optimise their processes, governance and cash collections; • Regulators/Governments make important system wide improvements; and • Lenders to FS businesses react appropriately to signs of borrower stress and distress What sets Nick apart is that he has walked the walk, taking executive turnaround roles where he has created and led new large-scale servicing platforms in the toughest circumstances as well as driving broader turnaround initiatives. His outstanding track record speaks for itself and his real-world experience means that he understands not only the theory but also the challenging practical realities in resolving difficult and distressed assets. Nick applies his experience as the Co-lead of Interpath’s FS team where he spends his time developing solutions for a varied set of clients where distressed assets are either causing issues or creating opportunities. Examples of where he helps clients include: • structural solutions like AMC’s or ‘bad banks’; • helping lenders rapidly reduce NPA’s through strategic, operational or practical support • helping investors bid compellingly and with confidence for NPL/REO portfolio • helping investors quickly stand up new servicing capability with strong governance • executing plans to react decisively to servicing underperformance or regulatory intervention • delivering funding solutions where distressed assets are a material issue No simple single solution typically creates the right answer for our clients. We usually find a collage of organic, M&A and structural solutions need to be wrapped with regulatory experience, great data analysis, robust governance and relentless laser sharp execution to bring the best outcome. This plays to the heart of our proposition which is built on the strongest foundation of real-world experience with a focus on working collaboratively and leaving lasting legacies.
Managing Director & Co-Head of Interpath's FS team. Nick and his team provide strategic, operational and financial advice alongside practical support in five areas: (1) Supporting Banks and other Financial Institutions in protecting & rebuilding value through capital enhancement, asset quality improvement, assessing and executing bad bank strategies, cost reduction, monetising contentious assets and reacting decisively to regulator and other stakeholder issues (2) Supporting Investors, through the life cycle, in acquiring, optimising returns from and exiting NPL and REO portfolios (3) Supporting Investors and Servicers in rapidly establishing new NPL/REO servicing operations, optimising existing capabilities to enhance pace and scale of cash collections, strengthening governance, executing cost reduction and preparing for and executing business sales (4) Advice and support for Lenders to FS businesses on their options to protect value when encountering borrower stress and distress (5) Advice to Regulators and Government Bodies in respect to systemic solutions that ease the burden on the banking system of destressed assets. This could include the use of AMC’s, guaranteed funding solutions or law enhancements that ease resolution and reduce the burden from ‘friction costs’ Our senior FS team is deliberately sourced to contain people with a varied background drawn from restructuring, banking, servicing and advisory. We believe strongly in mixing people with practical real world experience alongside the best data analytics and advisory skills. Our teams work flexibly to maximise client outcomes, either as advisors or as interim executive where we focus on ‘doing’, albeit with robust governance and controls for our clients. Either way we take great pride in delivering success with a clear focus on collaborative working and ensuring we leave a valuable lasting legacy.
The 2013 financial crisis in Cyprus was severe, causing a major property market dislocation and GDP contraction resulting in the resolution (depositor bail in) and subsequent amalgamation of the two largest Banks on the island (Laiki Bank & Bank of Cyprus). Despite this resolution, the resulting enlarged Bank of Cyprus (BoC) was facing off to very weak economic condition and was suffering acute asset quality issues (with NPL's touching 70%), significantly constrained capital, was making material losses and was under very intense regulatory scrutiny. A rapid and fundamental balance sheet and P&L turnaround was needed. Nick commenced working with BoC in 2014 on that turnaround and subsequently stepped into an interim turnaround director role in 2015. Nick played a vital part in designing and executing many aspects of the Bank's stabilisation and turnaround across two roles. Firstly, acting as Director of the Restructuring & Recoveries Division where Nick helped create and then led a team of 500+ restructuring and recovery specialists in the resolution of c.€18bn NPLs; Secondly, acting as Director Corporate Finance Solutions where Nick led the Bank's M&A, successfully selling corporate, SME and retail secured NPL's and also retail unsecured NPL portfolios with combined nominal value well in excess of €5bn across numerous transactions The results Nick delivered were impressive by any standard, with NPL’s reducing from a peak of around €15bn in 2015 to €1.5bn by June 2021, despite more than €3bn of new NPL formation during that period. His work remains ongoing to support the final fix. Nick was heavily involved in other aspects of the Bank’s successful turnaround story including: • Equity and bond issuance • LSE listing • Establishment of an asset management division to monetise REO’s • Leading regulatory and investor dialogue in respect to asset quality • Lobbying for modernisation of important Cypriot legislation • Modernising lending and credit practices
Partner, Financial Restructuring Nick advised lenders, owners, management teams and other stakeholders protect and rebuild value when faced with financial stress and distress. Nick's focus was on large, often multinational, businesses with complex capital structures and covered all ownership structures (PLC's, PE owned and privately owned), numerous industries and numerous jurisdictions. Nick became a partner in 2008, having been a non partner member of the same Financial Restructuring team since 1999.