Juan Verdugo

Partner, Garrigues

Juan Verdugo is a partner in the firm’s restructuring and insolvency department. He is currently, in some way or another, advising hedge funds, investors and banks on the buy-side and sell-side of the foremost NPLs and REOs deals marketed in Spain, successfully closing a number of them. He has amassed a wealth of experience in refinancing distressed businesses, the acquisition of debt from banking syndicates, the purchase of distressed companies and assets and defending clients in asset clawback actions. Also worth noting is his experience in the area of cross-border insolvencies and in advising foreign investors on bids to acquire a controlling stake in distressed companies through loan-to-own tools. Since 2008, Mr Verdugo has regularly featured in the main international legal directories, which have stated that ‘he is capable of having a fantastic interaction with the court and anticipating how the parties will behave’ (Chambers Global, 2015) and that ‘he is really creative; it seems as though creating jurisprudence is something he enjoys doing’ (Chambers Europe, 2017). Chambers Europe, 2018 again endorsed Mr Verdugo, gathering positive feedback from clients who reveal that he has ‘superb skills as insolvency litigator with unrivalled track record in claw-back actions, collateral enforcements and directors’ liability’. According to the Financial Times, Mr Verdugo led the team that advised on and closed the most innovative restructuring deal in Spain (Jofel Industries, 2016) during insolvency proceedings and in the face of dissenting creditors, combining restructuring tools meant for different scenarios and new to Spain. He also sits on the World Bank Panel of Experts for the annual reports on ‘Closing a Business’ and ‘Getting Credit’.