American restructuring giant to open Manchester office

American restructuring giant FTI Consulting is opening an office in Manchester to be led by former PwC turnaround director Oliver Wright.

Wright will lead the office as senior managing director in the Restructuring practice within the firm’s Corporate Finance and Restructuring segment.

The firm sees a big opportunity in the regions as the economy faces “headwinds on several fronts” and many global clients of FTI have major interests in the North West and look to the firm for restructuring solutions to complex issues.

David Morris, a senior managing director and head of UK Restructuring said: “Oli adds great local and international credentials to our team that will be invaluable, and his appointment is the first step in our commitment to serving clients in the region”.

Wright has advised on UK and international insolvency, restructuring and accelerated M&A transactions in stressed and distressed situations.

Prior to joining FTI he was at PwC in a Manchester-based restructuring role as well as three years in Singapore, where he worked on cross-border restructuring assignments for businesses and financiers across Southeast Asia.

Wright said: “I have long admired the work of FTI Consulting’s market-leading restructuring team, so this is a great opportunity to play a strategic role in its future success. I look forward to working with colleagues to establish and grow the firm’s offering in Manchester.”

FTI was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., in the US and employs more than 7,700 staff in 31 countries. In the UK it acquired City PR firm Financial Dynamics in 2006 and it is now referred to as the Strategic Communications Division of FTI.

The firm was involved in the Lehman Brothers and General Motors bankruptcies, the investigation into the Bernard Madoff fraud, and the Major League Baseball steroid investigation. As of January 2020, FTI Consulting had the largest restructuring business in the US