Agenda for TRI Conference 2019 confirmed

Taking place at the London Hilton Bankside on November 13, 2019, the TRI Conference brings together turnaround, restructuring and insolvency (TRI) specialists with funds, merger and acquisitions advisers, lawyers, corporates and lenders.

George Buckley, chief economist at Nomura, will kick off the day’s sessions with a look at the current economic climate in Europe before taking part in an industry panel discussion, shining a spotlight on what’s currently happening across European markets and which sectors and regions are likely to produce opportunities.

Sessions will take place looking at case studies showcasing best practice in trading through administrations, including in a retail context.

This year has seen a continuation of collapses of familiar high street names, including Jamie’s Italian, HMV and Oddbins, while Debenhams was notably rescued in a pre-pack administration.

Bakery Patisserie Valerie was bought out of administration after its management team secured backing from Dublin-based investment firm Causeway Capital to take over 96 shops, saving 2,000 jobs.

In all, 70 of the group’s stores will close, resulting in “a significant number of redundancies”, the administrators said.

With this in mind, senior experts from Gordon Brothers will present will an in-depth case study of one of their most successful retail turnarounds.

There will also be an expert panel discussion on the health of the retail sector in the UK. From spiralling rents, through to the changing desire for customer experiences, this session looks at where retailers can succeed and where and why others fail.

Away from the high street, HMRC is set to regain preferred creditor status for the first time since 2004 after a consultation it carried out earlier this year.

Frances Coulson, senior partner, head of insolvency and litigation at Moon Beever and James Armitage, deputy director logistics at HMRC, will discuss the impact Crown Preference legislation will have on the industry.

The conference will be followed by the TRI Awards, sponsored by Capa, which will be held at the same venue, the London Hilton Bankside. Free entries for the awards closes on July 19.

Please click here to visit the TRI Conference 2019 website and view the agenda.