Mark Supperstone of Resolve Group explains how distressed acquisitions work in practice, including buying out of administration, backing management teams, managing creditor pressure, and using deal structure to control downside risk.
Listen to the EpisodeEpisode 138 | Runtime: 31:22 | Audio Episode
Hear Mark Supperstone explain how Resolve Group acquires, funds, restructures, and exits distressed businesses.
Three practical lessons for buyers assessing distressed acquisition opportunities.
A distressed business can still have value if the core customer demand remains and the buyer can identify the cause, such as bad debt, lost customers, poor management, or cash pressure.
Supperstone stresses that turnaround acquisitions depend on motivated, honest, incentivised management teams, especially when the buyer is acting as an investor rather than an operator.
Low upfront consideration, deferred terms, debentures, charges over assets, and disciplined walk away decisions all help buyers reduce risk when acquiring distressed companies.
In this episode, Jonathan Jay revisits a full interview with Mark Supperstone, a Director of Resolve Group, a firm focused on acquiring and funding distressed companies. Mark explains how Resolve moved quickly on its first acquisition, buying a bakery business out of administration and learning the realities of turnaround investing under pressure.
The discussion covers the practical criteria Resolve uses when assessing distressed companies, including whether there is a strong underlying business, whether customer demand still exists, and whether the reason for distress can be identified and fixed. Mark also explains why management teams are central to the investment case, why equity incentives matter, and why weak or dishonest management can destroy value after completion.
Jonathan and Mark then move into deal structure, creditor pressure, asset backed finance, administration risk, sectors to avoid, and exit strategy. The episode is especially useful for buyers who want to acquire distressed businesses without confusing a low price with a low risk deal.
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