Liverpool law firm sets up new insolvency litigation arm

Liverpool Law firm Provenio Litigation has launched Optimise, a new insolvency litigation and financing solution.

The business will be jointly run by Paul Flint, who has left his job as the former managing director and regional head of restructuring for Alvarez and Marsal in the North West.

The North West professional services story of the last year has been the stampede of corporate financiers joining American consultancy group Alvarez and Marsal, most notably the former KPMG rainmaker Jonathan Boyers, who has started this week.

However, Flint has moved in the opposite direction to join Optimise which will financially support the work of insolvency practitioners to make the best possible recoveries when a business goes bust.

The only other similar service is operated by London-based Manolete which works in a three-way partnership with IPs and their lawyers to ensure claims are pursued and resolved. They boast that they can pay “large up-front cash payments”.

Similarly, with Optmise, the liquidator or administrator receives an upfront payment and an agreed percentage of the final recovery on the claim. All claims are managed by the Provenio Litigation team.

Best known for this 31 years with KPMG Flint has provided restructuring advice and support to under-performing businesses and their stakeholders. His assignments have covered owner managed businesses to public listed companies. 

Optimise’s Managing Director, Mark Goodwin said: “Optimise has been developed for a wide range of insolvency litigation related claims including overdrawn directors’ loan accounts, breach of contract, breach of duty, transactions at undervalue, preferences, unlawful dividends, wrongful trading and claims against third parties. 

“Our established arrangement with a leading litigation funder avoids the lengthy delays often associated with seeking approval from third party funders and the fees of introducing brokers, which allows us to return greater recoveries to the insolvent estate.  The feedback from our insolvency practitioner clients and contacts has been extremely valuable in developing our product to meet their requirements.” 

Flint said: “As a new entrant to the market, we believe the Optimise business will be a significant disruptor in a mature market dominated by one supplier. We will provide office holders with a high-quality alternative solution to maximise returns on legal claims.  Optimise has the flexibility to agree proportionate pricing models to suit the particular circumstances of each claim. Using the most appropriate pricing structure from a range of options in each case allows us to provide greater returns for the insolvent estate.”

Liverpool-based Provenio Litigation LLP was launched in 2019 by a team of senior lawyers from global law firm DLA Piper to advise on high value and complex business litigation.

Optimise’s Management Board comprises Mark Goodwin, Paul Flint and former Exchange Chambers Chief Executive, Tom Handley.  The Liverpool-headquartered business has also appointed Harry Goodwin as Operations Director.