US investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc has strengthened its European restructuring unit, as financial firms move to boost staff ahead of an expected rise in companies struggling to avoid bankruptcy.
Goldman Sachs said in a statement on July 05 it had appointed Lachlan Edwards, 39, as co-head of European restructuring, reporting to Tim Flynn and Doug Henderson, the bank's co-heads of European leveraged finance.
Edwards was previously head of restructuring in the UK and co-head for Europe at Rothschild.
Accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP is also expanding its restructuring units on a view that more industries look vulnerable to higher interest rates and record energy costs, said Keith McGregor, partner at Ernst & Young in corporate restructuring in London.
The Ernst & Young restructuring unit has expanded by 20 percent over the past six months ahead of an expected pick up in restructuring activity in early 2007.
"We see businesses have too much debt, deals have been done that have left companies over-indebted, so any increase in the cost of borrowing or the downturn in operational performance will mean that there will be an increased number of casualties," McGregor said in an interview.
Retailers, auto suppliers and industries exposed to soaring energy costs, such as printing and packaging, are vulnerable, McGregor said.
Investment banks like Goldman Sachs are expanding into the distressed debt market on a view that any economic slowdown could increase advisory mandates and trading opportunities.
"With rising rates, the distressed debt market continues to have a very favourable outlook. It's still a market that if you do your research you can find some outsized returns," said William Maze, who helps manage $1.5 billion in global utilities at London-based hedge fund Ecofin Ltd.
Companies in distress seek advice from banks as new market participants, such as hedge funds, or trading instruments, including credit default swaps, have made bankruptcies more complex.
Hedge funds, including Polygon, have benefited from trading in once distressed energy companies, such as Drax and British Energy Group Plc. These funds bought debt at a fraction of their value when the companies were unprofitable in 2002 and 2003, only to sell it at as high as four times its value when the businesses recovered.
Both Drax and British Energy carried out debt-for-equity restructuring plans, and saw their shares soar after re-listing.
New laws adopted in Germany and Italy over the past few years make it easier for companies to declare bankruptcy and execute a restructuring plan that lets them return to business. This process is similar to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection process in the United States.
A series of strong economic figures from the euro zone recently has led to speculation that interest rates will rise in the future after years of low-cost borrowing. In the United States the Federal Reserve increased interest rates a 17th straight time on June 29.
About 172 global debt and structure finance jobs are on offer at the Web site of financial job agency Michael Page, as many as for corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions.