Toby Smyth has extensive experience acting for a wide range of stakeholders including creditors, debtors, distressed investors, officeholders and other key parties involved in complex cross-border restructuring and insolvency mandates.
Toby has also been recognized as a key lawyer by Legal 500 in a “proactive” team that is “pragmatic and commercial” and “delivers instructive advice”. Chambers has described the team, of which Toby is a founding member, as one that provides an “exceptional level of service backed up by technical expertise”.
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Work Highlights
Recent non-confidential experience (including prior to joining Simpson Thacher) includes representing:
- Matches Fashion on its refinancings and subsequent sale to the Frasers Group
- KKR on its majority ownership of the Telepizza / Food Delivery Brands group in relation to its comprehensive restructuring and debt-for-equity swap
- Goldman Sachs on its 50% ownership of the Flint / ColourOz group in relation to its comprehensive restructuring and debt-for-equity swap
- Arcadia Group in connection with its multiple CVAs, pensions liability restructuring, subsequent administration and disposals
- Steinhoff Europe on the structuring and implementation of return of value to its creditors owed approximately €7 billion
Education
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BPP Law School, 2013 LPC
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University of Bristol, 2012 LL.B.
Associations
- Insolvency Lawyers Association
Partner in the Firm’s Restructuring Practice, Toby Smyth has extensive experience acting for a wide range of stakeholders including creditors, debtors, distressed investors, officeholders and other key parties involved in complex cross-border restructuring and insolvency mandates.
Prior to joining Simpson Thacher, Toby served as legal counsel, on secondment, at Sculptor Capital Management.
Toby’s recent non-confidential experience, including prior to joining Simpson Thacher, includes representing:
- Matches Fashion on its refinancings and subsequent sale to the Frasers Group
- KKR on its majority ownership of the Telepizza / Food Delivery Brands group in relation to its comprehensive restructuring and debt-for-equity swap
- Goldman Sachs on its 50% ownership of the Flint / ColourOz group in relation to its comprehensive restructuring and debt-for-equity swap
- Arcadia Group in connection with its multiple CVAs, pensions liability restructuring, subsequent administration and disposals
- Steinhoff Europe on the structuring and implementation of return of value to its creditors owed approximately €7 billion
- Getronics group on its financial restructuring, bridge financing and eventual sale of its global business through a Dutch pre-pack sale by a “silent” administrator
- Toucan Energy group, the U.K.-based solar park business, on its corporate structure, almost £1bn of debt and restructuring options going forward
- Joint administrators of Avanti Communications, the U.K. satellite company, on its debt-for-equity swap implemented through pre-pack administration
- Joint administrators of the Global Brands Group, including on the pre-pack and subsequent disposals of key international brands and U.K., Hong Kong and U.S. joint venture interests
- House of Fraser on its leasehold, leveraged loan and bond restructuring by way of U.K. CVAs and schemes of arrangement and the pre-packaged sale to Sports Direct
Toby is an active participant in the international restructuring community, is a member of the Insolvency Lawyers Association, has lectured at the Queen Mary University on corporate restructuring and has spoken on the distressed panel at the Reorg London Credit Seminar.
Toby received his law degree from The University of Bristol. He received his LPC from BPP Law School and is admitted to practice in England and Wales.