Business Debt Restructuring

Struggling businesses burdened by debt may have alternatives to bankruptcy. One of those alternatives is business debt restructuring. Restructuring of the debt can involve:

• Changing or stretching out the terms of a debt repayment
• Reducing or settling the amounts on delinquent accounts
• Exchanging obligations for partial ownership in the company

Debt restructuring can keep a struggling enterprise alive, especially if the reason the company is in financial trouble is a temporary circumstance such as a slow-down in the economy, slow collection of receivables, or a one-time unexpected expense such as a natural disaster.

A company can hire a firm to begin debt restructuring, consult on where and how to cut costs and help manage creditor payments. In order to begin the debt restructuring the company must be examined on every level to determine where cuts can be made so that the newly restructured debt can be paid. Creditors are contacted and negotiations begin to determine what terms they will accept. When a creditor realizes that the company may go bankrupt, they may be willing to offer reasonable terms.

Having a qualified Miami business litigation lawyer on your side is invaluable when negotiating terms of a restructure with creditors.

Landlords can be approached for better lease terms. When losing a tenant that goes out of business, the remainder of the lease is an unsecured debt – last in line when the bankruptcy payments are doled out. An attorney experienced in debt restructuring can bargain with your landlord from a position of strength. Debt restructuring may also involve finding investors or lenders who will accept promissory notes.

Another advantage of debt restructuring, especially for smaller enterprises, is that it frees up time for the owners to actually run the business rather than dealing with creditors and ducking calls from attorneys and bill collectors, which any small business owner knows can not only be stressful but time-consuming. Debt restructuring is also less expensive than bankruptcy which requires significant up-front filing fees for businesses seeking protection.