Matthew Harding

Restructuring and Insolvency Partner, London

“I have over 10 years’ experience in complex cross-border insolvencies and restructurings. I bring sound risk assessment and commercial judgment in addition to in-depth knowledge of restructuring and insolvency law to help clients adopt the right strategy to resolve business-critical situations.”

Overview

Professional experience

Education and qualifications

Overview

Matt represents debtors, officeholders and stakeholders on a wide range of restructuring and insolvency matters, including corporate/financial restructurings, distressed M&A and formal insolvency.

Matt has a vast amount of experience of cross-border insolvency proceedings, including administrations, liquidations, schemes of arrangement, voluntary arrangements and personal bankruptcy. He has specialist knowledge of bank resolution having advised both regulators and financial institutions in relation to a number of significant global matters.

Matt regularly advises banks and financial institutions and has been involved in some of the most significant insolvencies of recent years, including playing a prominent role advising the administrators in the insolvency of Lehman Brothers International (Europe). Matt was seconded to Lehman Brothers between October 2013 and January 2015, firstly as a member of the in-house legal team and then working as the liaison between the respective Linklaters and PricewaterhouseCoopers teams, heading a team that was available to advise on ongoing issues.

Work highlights
Matt has advised on many of the market’s most significant insolvencies and restructurings. These include advising:
 
  • the joint energy administrators of Bulb Energy Ltd: advising in respect of the first ever use of the energy supply company administration regime, in relation to the insolvency of the UK’s seventh largest energy supplier.
  • ABP London: advising the joint liquidators of the ABP group of companies in relation to the disposal of one of London’s largest real estate developments. 
  • Intu Properties Plc: advising on the restructuring and subsequent insolvency of the Intu group of companies.
  • British Steel: advising Jingye Group on its landmark acquisition of the business and assets of British Steel Limited and its subsidiaries out of compulsory liquidation.
  • Lehman Brothers: advising PwC as the administrators of various of the UK Lehman estates, on a wide range of complex insolvency-related and contentious matters.
  • The central bank of a foreign state: advising on resolution action (including the use of a bail-in power) in relation to a systemically important financial institution.

Professional experience

Matt regularly presents at conferences, including a presentation, “Lehman Brothers 10-year anniversary - highlights and challenges of a decade in administration”, delivered at an R3 conference in November 2018, with Helen Gaillard, Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
 
He wrote “End of the Waterfall - the Lehman Brothers Scheme of Arrangement”, International Financial Law Review, August 2018.

Education and qualifications

Matt studied law at the University of Sheffield.