Opus Business Advisory Group working with GGI members in Canada

One of Opus Business Advisory Group’s core objectives in joining GGI in December last year was to connect and work with top professionals on cross-border issues in its our service lines, but principally its Restructuring & Insolvency (R&I) practice.

We were thrilled to have exactly such a problem to solve within a month of joining GGI. We found precisely the expertise we needed in Canada to remove a technical barrier to selling a significant investment in a Canadian-listed company owned by an insolvent UK company, where Opus has been acting as Administrators. As with so many international R&I matters, this case has involved obtaining recognition by and assistance from the relevant Court in the foreign jurisdiction.

The route to getting the help we needed could not have been smoother. An email to Marco Izzo, GGI’s COO, produced the details of two GGI law firm members in Canada virtually instantaneously. Another email to the contact at one of these firms was just as quickly replied to by Elisabeth Colson at Devry Smith Frank in Toronto. Elisabeth swiftly referred us on to Jean Sébastien Lebrun and insolvency specialist, Adam Spiro at another GGI member firm, Spiegel Ryan in Montreal. We are now working towards a solution with Spiegel Ryan, which has been a model of responsiveness and an invaluable source of local expertise.

We have also now identified a further Anglo-Canadian issue on another UK insolvency case, this time involving real estate assets located in Canada. This too has been referred to Spiegel Ryan to see if the team there can assist us or refer us elsewhere within GGI.

The outcome of both these issues in Canada remains to be seen, but to be working productively within GGI on not just one but two cases so soon after joining, and to be able to find the expertise we needed so easily has already justified our decision to join the GGI family.