When a company reaches a point of financial or operational stress, the window for effective action narrows quickly. We help owners, boards, and lenders navigate that window — stabilizing operations, managing stakeholders, and building a path to recovery before options are exhausted.
Turnaround and restructuring are related but distinct disciplines. Turnaround addresses the operational and strategic root causes of distress — the cost structure, the business model, the management decisions that created the problem. Restructuring addresses the balance sheet consequences — the debt load, the creditor relationships, the capital structure that has become unsustainable.
Most distressed situations require both. A company that restructures its debt without fixing its operations will be back in distress. A company that improves its operations but cannot service its existing debt will not survive long enough to benefit. We address both simultaneously, with experienced principals who have done this work from every seat at the table — as debtor advisors, creditor representatives, and acquiring parties.
We work with companies across the full spectrum of distress: from early-stage liquidity stress requiring a single lender negotiation, to complex multi-creditor situations requiring coordinated out-of-court workouts or Chapter 11 proceedings. The earlier we engage, the more options are available — and the better the outcome for all stakeholders.
SBA-guaranteed loans carry unique procedural requirements, government-side stakeholders, and collection mechanisms that make workouts materially different from conventional bank debt. The SBA's process is not intuitive — and mistakes made early in a default situation significantly limit the available options.
We have direct experience navigating the SBA's offer-in-compromise process, lender-serviced workouts, and the interplay between personal guarantees and SBA recovery. Early engagement — before a loan is charged off and referred to the SBA's Office of Credit Risk Management — is the single most important factor in achieving a favorable outcome.
In a distressed situation, cash is the only currency that matters. We implement immediate cash management discipline — forecasting, triage, and working capital control — to buy time and create the operational runway needed to execute a restructuring.
Before taking action, we establish a clear, honest picture of where the company stands — financially, operationally, and legally. This assessment forms the factual foundation for every subsequent decision and creditor communication.
Financial restructuring without operational improvement is a temporary fix. We work directly alongside management to identify and address the underlying drivers of distress — cost structure, margin deterioration, revenue decline, working capital inefficiency, or organizational dysfunction.
Distressed situations are fundamentally stakeholder management problems. Lenders, trade creditors, landlords, and equity holders all have competing interests and varying degrees of leverage. We manage these dynamics — establishing credible communication, building consensus, and driving toward consensual resolution.
Not every situation resolves consensually. We develop contingency plans in parallel with primary restructuring strategies — ensuring that if a negotiated resolution fails, the company is positioned to execute an alternative quickly and with minimal value destruction.
When an out-of-court resolution is not achievable, Chapter 11 can be a powerful tool — restructuring debt, rejecting burdensome contracts, and providing the breathing room needed to stabilize operations. We advise debtors on the use of Chapter 11 as a strategic instrument and serve as the financial advisor throughout the process.
We move quickly to establish the full picture — cash position, debt obligations, creditor priorities, operational health, and stakeholder dynamics. Speed matters. Most initial assessments are completed within days, giving ownership and the board a clear view of the situation and available options before the window narrows further.
We implement cash management discipline immediately — 13-week forecasting, working capital controls, and discretionary spend triage. Stabilizing liquidity is the prerequisite for everything else. Without cash runway, there is no time to execute a restructuring.
We establish direct, credible communication with all creditor constituencies early. Silence and delay are the enemies of restructuring outcomes — they create uncertainty, accelerate legal action, and destroy the goodwill needed for a consensual resolution. Proactive, transparent communication is the foundation of every successful workout.
We execute the operational improvements and financial restructuring in parallel. The business plan is developed and stress-tested. Creditor negotiations are advanced. Contingency plans are prepared. Both workstreams must progress simultaneously — a fixed business with unsustainable debt still fails.
We drive the process to completion. Restructurings stall when they lose momentum — creditors get nervous, management gets distracted, and options deteriorate. We maintain pressure on all parties, manage the inevitable complications, and keep the process on track through closing.
A restructuring creates a new starting point, not an ending point. We can remain engaged post-close to ensure the company performs against the business plan, maintains lender compliance, and does not slide back into distress. The restructuring is only successful if the business actually recovers.
A craft brewery with $6.51 million in debt across three creditor classes — none of it refinanceable, none of it equitizable. We executed an Article 9 UCC disposition that settled the senior lender at $50,000, extinguished $632K in trade payables, and kept 100+ employees working without a single bankruptcy filing. This was our own company. We know this process because we've lived it.
The earlier we engage, the more options are available. A confidential conversation costs nothing and often changes the trajectory of a situation significantly.