Kirkland Advises AllSaints on Series of Firsts in Restructuring via Company Voluntary Arrangements

Kirkland & Ellis advised AllSaints, the global contemporary fashion brand, on the restructuring of its store portfolio through parallel Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) of two English tenant companies. 

The CVAs were approved by the requisite majorities of creditors in meetings on 3 July and 6 July 2020. AllSaints successfully obtained recognition in the U.S. and Canada of one of the CVAs, which compromises the relevant company’s liabilities under leases in the U.S. and Canada. Recognition was obtained under Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and the Canadian equivalent (Part IV of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act), on 6 July 2020. 

AllSaints had already obtained recognition in the U.S. and Canada of one of the CVAs, on 17 June, prior to the CVA votes. This preliminary recognition provided interim protection and a stable platform for the group to pursue its restructuring.

AllSaints’ CVA represents a series of major firsts, including the first U.S. recognition of a landlord CVA, the first Canadian recognition of a CVA, and the first compromise of U.S. and Canadian leases via a CVA.

The Kirkland team was led by restructuring partners Elaine Nolan and Lisa Stevens in London, Joshua Sussberg and Neil Herman in New York, and David Seligman in Chicago. Richard Fleming and Mark Firmin, of Alvarez and Marsal, are the CVA supervisors.