UK top 10 accountancy and advisory firm Azets has made two senior appointments in its London restructuring advisory team, with Robert Young and Nicola Banham promoted to Partner.

The appointments enhance Azets restructuring and insolvency (R&I) capabilities. The team specialises in helping companies experiencing financial distress or facing closure with restructuring and rescue options. It offers specialist advisory services to assist organisations in making better long-term and effective, strategic business decisions.

Azets is augmenting the department to handle increased business demand, with the number of business insolvencies currently at unprecedented levels.

Nicola brings extensive experience in business restructuring, turnaround and rescue . She is a Chartered Accountant and Licenced Insolvency Practitioner. Nicola joined Azets in 2021 from BDO and has more than 20 years’ experience advising directors, lenders and other stakeholders.

In her role as partner, Nicola will continue to focus on helping companies navigate financial distress during what is anticipated to be a difficult year as businesses face significant pressure in light of inflationary pressure and the increased interest rates.

Robert Young is a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner with more than 20 years of experience in the insolvency profession, spending the majority of his career leading advisory and formal insolvency assignments across a wide range of sectors.

He joined Azets in November 2022 after more than 15 years at RSM, including a 15-month secondment to Santander, creating and implementing turnaround strategies for a portfolio of corporate customers.

Robert’s primary focus is the provision of restructuring advice to the key financial stakeholders of small and medium sized companies and has managed numerous significant insolvency assignments including projects relating to large, complex and multi-banked corporates.

Colin Haig, UK Head of Restructuring and Insolvency at Azets, which recently received new investment from PAI Partners alongside existing owners Hg, is spearheading the firm’s drive to add new revenue streams and continue to deliver exceptional service to its clients.

He commented: “Robert and Nicola are seasoned operators who have become integral parts of our R&I team in a short space of time. These promotions are well deserved and will help us to push Azets restructuring and insolvency team on to the next level.

“Now that our equity structure is confirmed, Azets UK will be pushing hard. You can expect more investment consistent with our ambitious growth plans.”