Overview
Alexander (Alex) Wood focuses his practice on all aspects of business restructuring and insolvency across all sectors including sovereign debt. He has worked on complex cross-border matters and financial services (including insurance) restructuring and insolvency with on the ground experience of providing capital solutions and special situations advice. He is skilled at designing and implementing complex restructuring plans, schemes of arrangement, managing cross-border workouts and restructurings, and overseeing formal insolvency procedures.
With 27 years of experience, Alex has established himself as a leader in the field. He works both debtor and creditor side, advising stakeholders across the entire capital spectrum. These include corporates, their directors, private equity, hedge and private credit funds, and financial institutions, who he advises on some of their largest matters. He also advises insolvency office-holders.
Alex has been involved in some of the leading restructuring and sovereign debt mandates of the last three decades, including acting for Lehman Brothers Inc, Westinghouse, the bondholders in Ukraine’s and Argentina’s sovereign debt restructures, and using the first Irish creditor scheme of arrangement to resolve a monoline exposure.
Alex has been recognised across the leading legal directories including Chambers UK 2023 and Chambers Europe 2023 where he was ranked for Restructuring/Insolvency, and Legal 500 UK 2023 where he was ranked as a ‘Leading Individual’. Clients describe Alex as having “outstanding technical awareness and a collaborative and inclusive approach” and as “a go-to sounding board for complicated restructuring and implementation issues, who readily translates academic issues into practical solutions.” Clients go on to say that Alex “excels at taking complex scenarios and finding workable solutions on complex multi-party, multi-jurisdictional transactions”. Alex has also been ranked as ‘Highly Regarded’ in IFLR1000 UK and has been listed in Best Lawyers 2023 and Expert Guides 2023. Recently in GRR100, Alex was noted to provide “clear, concise and seamless” advice.
Prior to joining McDermott, Alex spent time guest lecturing post-graduates on University College London (UCL)’s LLM on corporate insolvency, sharing his wealth of knowledge and experience with the next generation of legal professionals. He continues to teach postgraduates at UCL. Alex has also been appointed by the Ministry of Justice as a solicitor member of the Insolvency Rules Committee, established under the Insolvency Act 1986 to review proposed secondary legislation.
Results
- Advised a sovereign on its proposed market leading corporate insolvency laws for a special economic zone, including drafting its associated rules and regulations, taking influence from English law and other common law systems as relevant*
- Advised Mubadala in relation to the comprehensive financial restructuring of, and its further investment in, a strategically-important asset in Abu Dhabi*
- Represented Citibank, N.A., in its capacity as administrative agent and lender under a revolving credit agreement in connection with the Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases of Valaris plc and certain of its subsidiaries*
- Ambac UK in connection with the restructuring of Ballantyne Re plc through the first major Irish creditor scheme of arrangement. Finalist for IFLR Restructuring Transaction of the Year 2020*
- Advised certain bondholders in connection with Argentine sovereign debt*
- Advised the provisional and official liquidators of Abraaj, one of the largest fund collapses in recent history*
- Advised various sponsors in connection with portfolio company restructurings*
- Advised various credit or hedge funds in connection with distressed borrower restructurings*
- Advised Westinghouse Electric Company in connection with global, European and financing issues concerning its Chapter 11, one of the largest Chapter 11 cases of this cycle. Finalist (Runner Up) for Legal Business Restructuring Transaction of the Year 2019, Financial Times Innovative Awards 2019 and Finalist for British Legal Restructuring Team of the Year 2018. *
- Various debtors in connection with scheme of arrangement related issues, including Doncasters and Syncreon*
- Advised Claire’s Accessories in connection with its Chapter 11*
- Advised the ad hoc committee of senior secured noteholders in connection with the restructuring of Edcon Limited, implemented by way of South African compromise (local equivalent to a scheme of arrangement). Finalist for Legal Business Restructuring Transaction of the Year 2017 *
- Advised Franklin Templeton and other bondholders in connection with Ukraine’s sovereign debt, City of Kiev’s debt and the issue of ground-breaking GDP linked securities. Legal Business Restructuring Transaction of the Year 2016, Financial News Restructuring Team of the Year 2016 and Lawyer Awards Restructuring Team of the Year (Runner Up) 2016*
- Advised Advent in connection with the restructuring of Towergate, one of the largest high-yield restructures of 2015*
- Advised Lehman Brothers in connection with its restructuring including the ground-breaking sale of its sub-debt claim against LBIE to a JV with distressed debt investors. Legal Business Restructuring Team of the Year 2018*
- Advised Davidson Kempner Capital Management in connection with their acquisition of Allied Irish Bank’s debt owed by the Arora Hotel group and the subsequent restructuring of that debt*
- Advised the Special Administrators of MF Global. Legal Business Restructuring Transaction of the Year 2014 and Lawyer Awards Restructuring Team of the Year 2014 *
- Advised the judicial managers of BAICO Barbados*
- Advised the lenders in connection with the restructuring of CPPGroup plc*
- Advised the lenders in connection with the potential restructuring of, and the administrators in relation to the administration of the retail chain, the Peacocks Group, and on the pre-packaged administration and sale of Bon Marche*
- Advised the lenders in connection with the restructuring of facilities provided to care homes provider, Southern Cross*
- Advised the administrators in connection with the pre-packaged administration sale of the EMI Group*
- Advised The Financial Services Authority in connection with matters leading up to and including the Lehman Brothers administration orders*
- Advised Phoenix & London Assurance Limited and its advisers in connection with the innovative use of a scheme of arrangement to provide investment flexibility for holders of its GAR policies. This was the first solvent life assurance restructuring scheme and formed the basis for a number of subsequent life assurance restructures*
- Advised Equitable Life in connection with its groundbreaking restructure through a UK scheme of arrangement to compromise its guaranteed annuity policies, one of the largest and highest profile restructures of recent times. Finalist Legal Business Awards 2002*
*Matter handled prior to joining McDermott.
Recognitions
- Chambers UK, Restructuring/Insolvency, 2023
- Chambers Europe, Restructuring/Insolvency, 2023
- Legal 500, Recommended, Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency, 2023
- IFLR 1000, Highly Regarded, 2022
- GRR100, 2023
- Best Lawyers, 2023
- Expert Guides, 2023
Community
- UCL Faculty of Laws, Guest Lecturer
- Insolvency Rules Committee, solicitor member
- R3, Fellow
- INSOL, member
- Insolvency Lawyers Association, member
Credentials
Education
University of Oxford, BCL, 1997
College of Law, Guildford, LPC, 1996
University of Cambridge, MA, 1995
Admissions
England and Wales
Ireland
Languages
English
French
