Enter Title Here
5 January 2007
Corporate recovery practitioner David Dunckley and personal
insolvency expert Gareth Neill have been made partners within Grant
Thornton's Recovery & Reorganisation practice.
David has been a manager in Grant Thornton's Recovery
& Reorganisation department since January 2000. He has
specialised in corporate recovery for over eight years dealing with
a wide range of underperforming businesses advising creditors,
directors and other financial stakeholders. In this time David has
undertaken roles including formal insolvency work, corporate
turnarounds and business disposals.
David also plays a key role within Grant Thornton's
Automotive Services Team advising creditors and manufacturers in
distressed scenarios. Following his promotion, David's will
continue to be a part of Grant Thornton's successful London team
focussing on the UK Mid Corporate Sector.
A licensed insolvency practitioner and working at Grant
Thornton since 1997, Gareth has been instrumental in the
development of Grant Thornton's national IVA initiative and works
throughout the UK giving both individuals and businesses, solutions
on how to recover from insolvent situations. Gareth also has more
than eight years' experience in workout/turnaround
projects.
As well as playing a major part in the continued growth of
the firm's IVA offering, Gareth will be instrumental in developing
Grant Thornton's IVA Watch service. The first of its kind in the
market and launched in December 2006, the service is designed to
audit the systems and procedures of the UK's leading IVA providers
in a move which the firm believes will bring much needed
transparency to the industry. It will provide critical information
for creditors and all stakeholders to allow them to make informed
decisions in this market.
Commenting on his appointment, David Dunckley said: "While
the expectation for 2007 is for corporate insolvency levels to
remain broadly in line with this year, increasingly challenging
economic conditions in a number of sectors such as retail, higher
costs and increasing competition from abroad will put pressure on
many businesses. UK corporates will need to keep pace with change
and be flexible in how they adapt to these challenges. In all of
these cases debt restructuring and careful and regular operations
reviews will play a major part. I very much look forward to helping
further Grant Thornton's offering to help businesses deal with
difficult financial issues before it's too late."
Gareth Neill said: "The number of IVAs in the UK has
skyrocketed in recent years, growing by 118% in the last year
alone. Soon IVAs will be the preferred method of dealing with bad
debt. Not only do I relish the challenge of helping provide an ever
improved service to deal with the UK's growing debt problem, but to
also play a role in the development of IVA audits. These will bring
certainty to the IVA market, reassure users and lenders alike and
hopefully help dispel some of the negative perceptions that the
industry has attracted in recent months, or at least allow the
creditors to distinguish the high performers in the
industry."
Commenting on both appointments, Simon Morris, Managing
Partner, Grant Thornton Recovery & Reorganisation said: "I am
delighted that both Gareth and David have stepped up to partnership
level. Both have done sterling work over the past few years. These
appointments demonstrate how we are fully committed to developing
talent and retaining the very best people in the business. The
continued growth and expansion of our Recovery & Reorganisation
practice demonstrates our determination to be the best in the
business."