R3, the insolvency and restructuring trade body, has appointed Adrian Hyde as their new president for a year-long term, effective 21 April this year.
Hyde takes over from Andrew Tate, partner at Kreston Reeves LLP. He brings with him 20 years of insolvency experience, including contentious insolvency, tackling crime, fraud related cases, and overseas issues at offshore jurisdictions and business centres.
Hyde is a partner at CVR Global having been one of the founding partners in 2015. Prior to his current role, he was a partner at law firms Matthew Arnold & Baldwin and Moon Beever, where he specialised in insolvency and fraud.
After serving as vice-president of R3 for the past year, Hyde takes on his new role following the introduction of reforms to the insolvency sector on 6 April this year, and with further changes to the corporate insolvency and restructuring framework in the pipeline.
Speaking about the insolvency changes, Hyde said: “In recent years, the insolvency and restructuring profession has experienced a series of regulatory and legislative changes in a relatively short period of time. The scale and frequency of change has understandably left members of the insolvency and restructuring profession concerned. The UK has a world-class insolvency and restructuring regime of which to be proud. Any changes that are made to our regime should enhance rather than undermine it.”
On the challenges of his new role, Hyde commented: “One of my priorities will be to highlight the essential role the insolvency profession plays in the fight against fraud. With fraud on the rise and enforcement agencies finding their budgets constrained, the value of the insolvency profession’s work on the front line against fraud has never been more important. Over the next year, I’ll be working with other fraud experts within the profession, including R3’s Fraud Group, to identify what steps we or the government can take to help insolvency and professionals tackle fraud and protect businesses, individuals, creditors, and the wider economy.”
Hyde also commented on the impact of Brexit on the industry. He said: “As the UK economy navigates the challenges posed by Brexit, it is vitally important that the insolvency and restructuring framework, and the practitioners who work within it, are in the best possible shape to continue to help rescue businesses and jobs, return money to creditors, and support individuals with financial problems. The more settled our framework, the easier it is for us to get on with the job.
“Leaving the EU will pose challenges for UK-EU cross-border insolvency and restructuring work and will have wider implications for the UK’s reputation as a place ‘to do business’. It’s important the government listens to the profession and seeks in its negotiations to make sure that leaving the EU does not damage the UK’s position as a centre of international restructuring and insolvency.”
Stuart Frith, partner in Stephenson Harwood’s restructuring and insolvency practice, replaces Hyde as R3’s new vice-president.