Buchler Phillips Birthday

Has it really been 35 years? In some ways it seems like only yesterday that my fellow Arthur Andersen insolvency partner Peter Phillips and I set up shop in Mayfair. To set the scene in 1988: the Piper Alpha oil rig explosion had killed 167 and would rock the Lloyd’s insurance market for years to come; UK car sales exceeded two million for the first time, led by the Ford Escort; 21 year old Paul Gascoigne joined my beloved Tottenham Hotspur for £2m, while Ian Rush broke transfer records for not much more when he re-joined Liverpool from Juventus. To make us all feel old, those born in 1988 include boxing champion Tyson Fury, comedian Jack Whitehall, footballer Micah Richards and rapper Tinie Tempah.

Buchler Phillips is privileged to have been involved in some of the most complex and fascinating insolvency and restructuring assignments of the last 35 years, in the UK and beyond: the receivership of Robert Maxwell’s private estate; joint liquidator of Leyland DAF Ltd; at Lloyd’s of London, unravelling the LMX spiral in respect of the 1992 and prior year losses for marine, aviation and property catastrophe claims; this year, the administration of the UK’s CargoLogicAir Ltd amid sanctions against Russian owned businesses. The firm has supported individuals in bankruptcies of all sizes,  devised creative, sustainable turnaround solutions for businesses in the last chance saloon, and returned many millions to frustrated creditors. We are equally proud of the many leading practitioners who have trained at, passed through and sometimes returned to the firm. It’s a roll call of some of our industry’s leading players.

Aussie chanteuse Kylie Minogue was number 1 in 1988 with I Should Be So Lucky. That’s exactly how I feel when I look back at the business we’ve built over 35 years. It continues to go from strength to strength under our wonderful Managing Director Jo Milner and her talented team. Here’s to the next 35 years!

David Buchler, Chairman