1. Paul Leggett
Director, Mobile: Restructuring Services,
Middle East, UAE Nationality: British Language: English
Paul is a Director in Deloitte Professional Services (DIFC) Limited’s Restructuring Services team who relocated to the Middle East in 2011 following eight years with our Deloitte UK restructuring team.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accounts England and Wales (FCA), as well as UK Joint Insolvency Examination Board qualified, and has worked in the recovery field since 2003 focusing on providing advice to corporates and their stakeholders such as the owners/shareholders and the board of directors. As well as providing advice, Paul has also been involved in the day to day running of businesses in financial distress, both at a local and national level, and understands the critical information required to make strategic decisions as well as manage on a daily basis.
Paul has spent nine months working for one of the UK’s leading banks in their high risk team dealing with clients in distressed financial positions thereby developing an insight into the requirements of lenders in a restructuring scenario and the drivers of their decisions.
Recent relevant experience
STCF and working capital advice to UAE contractor with USD400m of facilities which were used in global parent group covenant and utilisation calculations.
Company side advisory for stressed UAE based contractor, specialising in the engineering, design and installation of aluminium and glass façade works.
Cash and working capital assistance to a listed multi-branded high street furnishing retailer to improve their overall liquidity position.
Business review and short term cash flow planning of GCC family business including automotive franchise and construction assets, as part of a wider refinancing exercise.
Company side advisory for stressed international marketing and exhibition business, identifying areas for improvement, including cash flow and working capital management.

2. Tom Howitt
Assistant Director, Restructuring Services, Mobile:
Middle East, UAE Nationality: British
Languages: English
Tom is an Assistant Director in Deloitte’s Restructuring Services team who relocated to the Middle East in 2015 following eight years with Deloitte in the UK. Tom qualified as a chartered accountant with the Deloitte Audit Team, in the Financial Services sector group, gaining an ACA qualification from the ICEAW.
Tom has seven years of financial restructuring and business turnaround experience. During this time, Tom has gained significant experience in providing advice to corporates, lenders and other stakeholders to support financial restructurings and corporate turnarounds. Tom also spent seven months in the Deloitte UK Debt Advisory team, working with corporates to obtain optimum funding packages from their lenders and prospective lenders.
Recent relevant experience
Led a team providing support on financial forecasting and preparation of a lender information pack for a UAE based trading and development business, which had AED350m of debt across 14 banks on a bilateral basis. We successfully negotiated a medium term principal repayment moratorium with a number of its lenders.
Key part of a team which provided acquisition financing for a PE-backed business in the travel sector. This resulted in a $135m debt raise at very competitive terms, with a club of 6 clearing banks and alternative lenders used to deliver the required debt package.
Supported a fit-out and refurbishment business during negotiations with its lender. Tom provided "hands-on" support to assist the finance team prepare a robust business plan, in order to identify the funding requirement and payback period. The company obtained bank funding to support the turnaround plan.
Company-side engagement for a UK airport to re-finance $100m of core loans. Our role was to negotiate terms for a consensual debt restructure. This required a detailed understanding of the financial forecasts, in order to advise on potential funding structures and repayment scenarios. We successfully protected the Company from enforcement action and facilitated a financial restructuring process.