Leading business and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK has announced three internal promotions within its Insolvency, Forensics and Restructuring (IFR) team in Scotland, alongside the appointment of a third licensed Insolvency Practitioner (IP) locally.
Ian Dawson, based in Edinburgh, has been promoted to Associate Director, and he’ll be focusing on forensic investigations, disputes and contract compliance assignments. Recent assignments include expert witness reports for disputes before the Scottish courts, quantification of loss in a large overseas fraud investigation and several contract compliance reviews in the real estate and utilities sectors.
Further bolstering the team’s bandwidth in insolvency matters, Claire Martin, a Director in the team with over 12 years’ restructuring and insolvency experience, has recently gained her insolvency licence and is now able to accept corporate insolvency appointments alongside colleagues Stuart Preston and Julie Tait. This takes Grant Thornton’s cohort of appointment-taking IPs in the UK to 45.
Claire, who is based in Glasgow, will undertake this role alongside her primary responsibility for delivery of the team’s Restructuring offering in Scotland. She focuses on supporting Scottish mid-market companies and their stakeholders in times of stress or distress, and is experienced in a broad range of corporate insolvency instructions, including administrations and liquidations, across a range of sectors in Scotland including energy, real estate, construction and leisure.
The team has also promoted Shonagh Young and Victoria Reid to Managerial positions. Edinburgh-based Shonagh works across forensic, restructuring and insolvency assignments, including recent work on a PLC administration in the energy sector and contract compliance reviews. Glasgow-based Victoria focuses on restructuring and debt advisory engagements across sectors including leisure, waste and manufacturing, and assists corporates with debt raising and refinancing to secure competitive terms.
Stuart Preston, Partner and Head of Insolvency, Forensics and Restructuring in Scotland at Grant Thornton, said:
“These three very well-deserved promotions and new insolvency practitioner appointment demonstrate our continued investment in Grant Thornton’s Insolvency, Forensic and Restructuring offering to the Scottish market.
“Whilst the Scottish economy has shown resilience in challenging times, we are being instructed on an increasing number of assignments across our service offerings by proactive corporates and their stakeholders seeking to protect value and resolve challenging situations.
“As a team we are uniquely placed, drawing together our specialist expertise in Insolvency, Forensics and Restructuring within one delivery team, maximising the value to clients from the cross-disciplinary skills mix and flexible approach to assignments.”
“Moving forward, the restructuring team in Scotland will continue to invest in its market-leading team, deliver the highest quality of output for clients across its service offerings, maximise the value delivered in what can be time pressured and stressful times for directors, and work in collaboration with the wider team across Grant Thornton UK and its international network.”
Claire Martin, Director at Grant Thornton, said:
“In challenging times for corporates, taking early advice is key to being able to assess the full suite of options available. When necessary, an insolvency appointment may be the most appropriate route for a corporate experiencing financial distress as a means to realise the best outcome for creditors and allow the underlying business to continue to trade.
“My appointment as an appointment-taking insolvency practitioner in Scotland adds further bandwidth to the team and strengthens our position as one of the leading teams within the restructuring and insolvency sector in Scotland.”
Ian Dawson, Associate Director at Grant Thornton, said:
“I am delighted to be stepping up to the role of Associate Director as we continue to build on a market-leading full-service forensic offering in the Scottish market, working for a broad range of corporates and intermediaries in disputes, investigations and contract compliance matters.
