Kunal Gadhvi

Irwin Mitchell

Kunal heads Irwin Mitchell’s London R&I team, having joined in 2019 from a well-known London boutique law firm where he was a Junior Equity partner, prior to which he was at Squire Patton Boggs LLP in London

Kunal has 22 years’ experience in the Restructuring and Insolvency industry, dealing with a broad range of both non-contentious and contentious work, focusing primarily on advisory and transactional work such as:

Debt restructuring
Business sales and acquisitions
Lender security enforcement and enhancement
Cross-border restructuring & insolvency

He acts for a mixture of UK clearing banks, UK top 20 accountancy firms, insolvency practitioners, private equity houses, alternative lenders and asset-based lenders. He also works with international clients such as international accountancy firms, foreign and international banks, and foreign law firms.

Kunal also has extensive experience dealing with contentious insolvency matters, including misfeasance and wrongful trading actions, antecedent transaction recoveries, cross-border asset recovery and fraud investigations.

Kunal regularly advises underperforming companies, boards of directors and investor groups on restructuring options and managing key stakeholders and advises landlord creditors on enforcing their rights and dealing with tenant insolvency.

In November 2022, Kunal won the prestigious Corporate Restructuring Lawyer of the Year award at the Global Turnaround, Restructuring and Insolvency (TRI) Awards.

Reported cases of note:

Re Houst Limited [2022] EWHC 1765 (Ch) – advising on the administration and subsequently sanctioned Restructuring Plan of short-term holiday lettings and property management business Houst Limited. This was significant and widely reported upon, as the first use of the Restructuring Plan process to secure the future of a distressed SME business, and involved the first occasion of HM Revenue & Customs being subject to a cross-class cram down as the dissenting secondary preferential creditor.

Cosco Bulk Carrier Co Ltd v Armada Shipping SA & Anor [2011] EWHC 216 (Ch) – advising the Swiss liquidator of Armada Shipping SA on the application under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 arising from a recognition order made under Article 17 of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, recognising the Swiss liquidation as a foreign main proceeding.

Endersby and Coote v Astrosoccer 4 U Ltd [2017] 12 WLUK 168 – advising the applicants on a successful application for a retrospective administration order over the company that was subject to a winding-up petition to “cure” an invalid directors’ out-of-court appointment of Administrators.

Re Calibre Solicitors Ltd (in administration); Justice Capital Ltd v Murphy and another [2014] All ER (D) 187 (Dec) – advising the administrators of an insolvent law firm in respect of the multiple applications to challenge the remuneration and expenses; the first reported decision on the important issues in relation to challenging remuneration and expenses.

Practice Area

Restructuring & Insolvency

Panel

Contributing Author

Qualified Year

2005

Experience

Moon Beever LLP (2002 - 2009)
Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP (2009 - 2015)
Edwin Coe LLP (2015 - 2019)

Membership

The Law Society
INSOL International

Qualifications

Legal Practice Course (2002)
Post-Graduate Diploma in Law (2001)
BA French & Law (2000)

Education

The College of Law, London (LPC) (2002)
The College of Law, London (PgDL) (2001))
De Montfort University, Leicester (2000)

1 Contributions by Kunal Gadhvi

PRECEDENTS

Restructuring Plan Precedent for SMEs under Part 26A Companies Act 2006 (England and Wales)

BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES COMPANIES LIST (CHD) IN THE MATTER OF [ insert name of the Company ] AND OF THE COMPANIES ACT 2006 BETWEEN [ insert name of the Company ] and the Plan Creditors [ and Members ] (each as defined herein) RESTRUCTURING PLAN (pursuant to Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006) DATED [ insert date ] RECITALS The Company (A) [ Insert name of the Company ] is a [ private ] limited company, registered in [ England and Wales ], bearing company number [ insert company number ] and with its registered office at [ insert address ] (the Company). Purpose of the Restructuring Plan (B) This Restructuring Plan seeks to implement a compromise and arrangement between: [ (i) ] the Company and the Plan Creditors; [ and (ii) the Company and the Members ], so as to remove, lessen, avert, or alleviate the impact of financial difficulties experienced [ or likely to be experienced ] by the Company which are affecting, or could, will, or may affect, its capacity to continue to carry on business as a going concern thereof...

Restructuring & Insolvency

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