Paul Spence

Practice Areas

The Restructuring Team handles a very broad range of assignments that involve businesses experiencing some form of financial distress. The work can broadly be divided into (i) Transactional, (ii) Contentious, and (iii) Advisory. We act for every class of stakeholder in a restructuring assignment, namely, the corporate or distressed entity, shareholders and partners, investors, funders, insolvency practitioners and turnaround professionals.

Career

1989 – 91: Cuff Roberts Solicitors in Liverpool - Trainee Solicitor (Articled Clerk as then was) with

1991 – 94: Cuff Roberts Solicitors in Liverpool - Solicitor with Cuff Roberts in Insolvency team.

1994 – 2005: Cuff Roberts Solicitors in Liverpool - Partner Head of Insolvency and Debt Recovery team.

2005 – 2010: Halliwells LLP (following merger with Cuff Roberts) – Partner in Insolvency team.

2010 – Date: Hill Dickinson LLP in Manchester – Partner and Head of Restructuring team.

I have practised in the area of insolvency and restructuring for my entire career. I am a member of the Law Society, R3 (the insolvency and restructuring trade association) and NARA (the association of fixed charge receivers). I served a term on the national Council for NARA and have sat on the interview panel and currently sit on the membership committee.

I have lectured on insolvency matters for the Quality Law Group and Liverpool Law Society, chaired Halliwells national insolvency conference on three occasions and the Hill Dickinson insolvency conference. I have conducted in house training seminars on various aspect of UK insolvency law at the EC in Brussels and to various financial institutions including Nationwide Building Society and Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance.

I was successful in achieving panel status for all three firms worked for for insolvency work for Nationwide Building Society, Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish Bank, Investec Bank and several second tier funders and bridging finance companies.

Whilst I have a broad restructuring practice and have acted on numerous notable mandates, my noted specialism is on distressed real estate matters and that has led to my involvement with NARA.

Professional Memberships

Law Society

R3

NARA (Association of Property and Fixed Charge Receivers) – Formerly a council member and currently on membership committee

Publications

Insolvency Intelligence

Law Society Gazette

Personal

I was born in Liverpool and lived there until 2011. I was the first member of my family to graduate from university.

I am married to Christina, a barrister specialising in Public Law at 9 St John Street Manchester. We have four children aged 17 to 31 and two grandchildren ages 7 and not quite 2.

In 2005 I trekked the Inca Trail to raise funds for Christie Hospital in Manchester.

I have been committed (most of the time) to weight training and general exercise and fitness (football, badminton, squash, hiking) all of my life.

I am an absolute music anorak and have an exceptionally broad taste in music. I attend dozens of gigs every year and drag along anybody who doesn’t know better.

I play guitar and drums.

Awards

Clients

PricewaterhouseCoopers

FRP

Begbies Traynor

RSM

Azets

Leonard Curtis

CG Recovery

Campbell Crossley & Davis

Currie Young

Watling Real Estate

Cushman & Wakefield

Alexander Lawson Surveyors

Habib Bank

Newcastle Building Society

Arbuthnot Latham

Hyde Park Finance

KSYEYE Capital

Nextius Finance

Work Highlights

Far too many to list. Recent examples

I was the lead partner on the recently reported case of Re Fox Street Village Ltd (in administration) [2020].

2021- 2025: Mount Group Student Natex Limited – Part built student development in Liverpool – sold for £14.1m

2020- 2023: Dealing high profile regional property developer with a various development in Liverpool and Manchester owned by Elliot Group

2022: Furness Quay – Residential development in Salford Quays.

2023: Worked with professional team in amending planning to achieve sale of part built block of flats in Finchley

2024: Managing issues with funding, compliance, safety, planning and ultimate sale of block of 96 flats in London subject to a cladding remediation scheme.

2024: Resolving issues for logistics clients in two very high-profile high-street retail insolvencies.

Industry Sector Expertise

• Distressed Property Assignments

• Receivership

• Board Advisory

• Administration business and asset sales.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

England and Wales

Languages Spoken

English

Experience

See above,

Education