Fouad el Houzi

Career

Fouad specialises in financing, restructuring exercises (under the Dutch WHOA scheme), D&O liability and attachments, as an adviser and as a litigator. His clients include directors, officers, creditors, investors, shareholders and financial institutions such as leasing companies. Thanks to his background in business administration, his efficient approach and solution-driven modus operandi, he is widely appreciated as a reliable and respected partner. Fouad has extensive experience dealing with complex and high-stakes cross-border cases. For example, he has represented the bankruptcy trustees of Royal Imtech NV in a variety of cases, some regarding the sale of assets, others negotiations about final settlement agreements and again others being pure litigation. Regularly appointed as a trustee in bankruptcy proceedings, Fouad has been the trustee in the bankruptcy of Royal Imtech since January 2023. With his extensive experience and his corporate background, he is a sound and efficient manager of restructuring projects.

Fouad regularly shares his expertise by publishing articles and giving lectures. He is an editor of the FIP (Financiering, Insolventie en Zekerheden Praktijk) journal and of Modellen voor de Rechtspraktijk, a set of standard texts for use in legal practice. He is an author for SDU Commentaar Vermogensrecht (a professional journal on property law), focusing on purchase financing and suretyship, SDU Commentaar Insolventierecht (insolvency law), and the INSOL Europe Case Register. He is also a lecturer for the course ‘Insolventierecht voor Curatoren’ at the CPO.

Recent cases in which Fouad played a key role include:

Trustee in the bankruptcy of Royal Imtech N.V.

Trustee in the bankruptcies of Fortress/Maeyveld

Advising on the restructuring of an international retailer

Advising on the restructuring of a US group with Dutch entities in the dairy industry

Advising on the restructuring of an Asian group

Negotiating for and advising a Dutch biotech group with regard to a EUR 40 mio funding by a foreign bank

Several WHOA proceedings

Representing a leasing company on various matters (leasing documentation, distressed clients, insolvencies)