What Restructuring Clients Really Need: Insights From the Frontlines of Sales
Contents
Written by
Mike Newman
As Commercial Director at Company Watch, I spend my days talking with UK restructuring professionals – from Big Four practice leaders to independent insolvency practitioners. What strikes me is that what clients ask for and what they truly value can be two very different things. I’ve learned to listen closely and follow the data.
Today’s restructuring landscape is tough. UK companies in critical distress jumped drastically in late 2024, and have continued to do so all of 2025. Practitioners expect even more pressure in 2026 as rising costs and lending rates erode margins. Demand for turnaround work is high, and firms are looking for answers.
The challenge is that clients under pressure want both speed and clarity. They often say they need “all the data” or “faster analysis,” but what matters is concise, reliable insight they can defend.
Many ask for “more detailed reports,” only to later say, “let’s just focus on the key ratios and risks?”. What they value most is a clear narrative: show the cash runway, flag the red flags, and explain it with confidence.
Regulators and lenders increasingly expect IPs to prove due diligence at every step, so insights must be defensible. One officer at a mid-market firm told me they didn’t need a 100-page analysis – just three slides they could show the board, backed by trusted data. In short, restructuring clients need good quality data, faster than the competition.
Speed vs. substance
Clients demand speed, but they also need time to check their output. Speed without substance gets penalised. One restructuring partner put it well: “Give me 24 hours of platform wizardry, but remember I must be able to defend every formula to my stakeholders.”
Even as clients complain that “time is short,” they value accurate, defensible analysis over rushed estimates. Modern practitioners face accelerating regulatory scrutiny and must demonstrate that AML risks are understood, monitored, and managed. You can’t cut corners; regulators expect evidence and audit trails.
Due diligence headaches
Nearly every practitioner I speak with is driven by ensuring they do a thorough job. In restructuring work, especially administrations and CVAs, IPs must trace financial history, identify related-party transactions, and show every step is justified.
This is hard when records are scattered. Relying on manual bank statements or patchwork documents creates gaps and vulnerabilities. If companies keep fragmented documentation, errors creep in – and with tighter AML oversight, those oversights can become liabilities.
Clients now value tools that deliver certainty. More IPs use open banking connections to fetch client bank transactions instantly. It removes the risk of altered statements and provides up-to-date figures.
In fact, most IPs won’t accept analysis unless they can export the raw data – because they know the numbers must withstand third-party scrutiny.
Incomplete or dirty data
This is the flip side of due diligence. Even when data is messy, clients still need clear outputs. Data delays are common: documents arrive late, formats vary, and gaps force repeat requests. This costs everyone time.
Practitioners now want tools that streamline data capture. As a result, demand for debt-analysis platforms is growing fast. Clients are less interested in how the data is gathered – they just want it assembled quickly and accurately.
R3 recently noted a surge in early-stage “restructure or insolvency” inquiries at year-end, showing that companies are racing to explore options before deadlines. In those crunch moments, both clients and partners expect answers yesterday.
Case size matters
Segmentation by case size makes a big difference. The needs in a multi-million-pound administration differ from a typical SME CVL. PwC reports that around 98% of UK insolvency cases involve businesses with annual revenues under £1 million.
Most of these smaller cases are handled by small teams, sometimes a single practitioner. Directors usually want a quick wind-down. They prefer lean workflows: a simple creditor list, a bank reconciliation, and a clear exit statement. They value speed and certainty over complexity.
By contrast, large corporate rescues involve many stakeholders and higher stakes. These teams request detailed cash flow models, stress tests, and forensic reviews. They may ask for “all the data,” but still value clarity. As one restructuring director put it, “We could drown in spreadsheets, but lenders only care that the numbers are reliable.”
Large corporate clients may want interactive dashboards and modelling, while SMEs need straightforward Excel reports. Both, however, want defensible facts.
Rising expectations for data tools
Expectations for data tools have risen sharply. Ten years ago, email statements and desktop software were enough. Today, even traditional firms expect technology to speed things up.
Younger practitioners assume there’s a tool for everything. Some more experienced partners care less about the tech, but they admit it helps win creditor confidence.
Listening to the customer
All these changes point to one lesson: listen to the customer. At Company Watch, we make a habit of gathering feedback through advisory panels, surveys, and countless phone calls. Every time a user says, “It would be great if you could…,” I take note.
Sales insights from the restructuring market keep us grounded. We might think we know what clients want, but real feedback always teaches us more.
Final thoughts
Restructuring clients in the UK are under immense pressure. They might say they want “all the answers,” but what they truly need is rapid, clear, and defensible insight.
Our job is to bridge that gap – giving speed without losing accuracy, and clarity without oversimplifying. By combining industry data with real client feedback, we can help practitioners focus on what matters most.
At the end of the day, restructuring clients just need to sleep easy knowing they can explain any number in a report to a judge, a creditor, or an auditor. That’s the goal I keep front and centre every day.
