Damien Gomez

Damien advises financial institutions, corporates and insolvency practitioners on UK, international and cross-border restructuring and insolvency matters.

In addition to UK and European situations, he also has a particular focus on the Middle East, having advised on a number of restructurings and formal insolvency process in the region.

Damien’s experience includes bank debt and bond restructurings (consensual and otherwise), contingency planning, security enforcements, pre-pack administrations and other insolvency procedures. He has worked across a range of sectors, including infrastructure, financial services / financial institutions, retail, consumer, hospitality, oil and gas, construction and aviation / aviation services.

During his career at Linklaters, Damien has also spent over a year on secondment to a UK bank’s special situations team.

Damien is one of the firm’s Trainee Recruitment Partners, responsible for the firm’s graduate recruitment programme in the UK. He has participated in several community investment programmes, including mentoring students from local schools. He is a member of the firm’s HeForShe steering committee and is actively invested in the firm’s diversity and inclusion mission.

Work highlights

Damien has advised on a number of market-leading restructuring and insolvency matters. Highlights of his experience include:

• HERE: advising a syndicate of banks in relation to the restructuring of the business.

• Gategroup: advising the senior lenders to this aviation services business in connection with the group’s Part 26A Restructuring Plan
• Lehman Brothers: advising PwC as the administrators of various of the UK Lehman estates, on a wide range of complex insolvency-related and contentious matters
• Caffe Nero: advising Nero Holdings Limited on its strategic options in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its company voluntary arrangement
• Ted Baker: advising the lenders to this retail company on their financial restructuring
• The Steinhoff group: advising this retail group on its €10bn (bond and bank debt) financial restructuring

Damien is a member of various trade associations such as R3 (the Association of Business Recovery Professionals) and the Insolvency Lawyers Association.

Further work highlights

• Victoria’s Secrets: advising Deloitte as administrators in relation to the trading administration and sale of this business
• Dubai International Capital: advising the secured lenders on the restructuring of this investment company’s financing arrangements
• Drake & Scull: advising the lenders to this Middle East-based construction business
• Al Jaber Group: advising a secured lender to this group on its proposed financial restructuring and subsequent related matters
• The NMC Group: advising a lender to this group on the administration of NMC plc and its group and related matters
• The Global Garden Products group: advising the group on a scheme of arrangement to restructure its debt structure alongside a concurrent equity reorganisation
• DP World: advising on its acquisition (and concurrent financial restructuring) of Dry Docks World
• The Candy group: advising the group on a regulated apportionment arrangement entered into by its UK distributor and group company Hoover Limited to address its pension deficit
• Yell/hibu group: advising the administrators of certain Yell/hibu group companies appointed in the context of the restructuring of the wider group’s bank debt
• Phones4U: advising Vodafone on its pre-packaged acquisition of part of this mobile phone retailer
• La Senza: advising the shareholders on the administration of this fashion retailer
• Powa: advising the purchasers on the purchase out of administration of this technology business