Simon Underwood
Partner, Menzies LLP

Simon Underwood has been advising financially challenged businesses since 1990. In 1998, he broadened his insolvency experience with a three-year stint in insolvency regulation. He subsequently re-joined private practice in 2002 and, in 2011, established a new insolvency practice which transferred into Menzies LLP in 2015 – providing Simon with over 30 years’ experience within the industry.

Simon’s experience provides a perfect platform to offer financially distressed businesses and individuals solutions to their difficulties. He has been appointed liquidator and administrator in relation to numerous companies as well as acting as a receiver of various assets and as trustee in bankruptcy of various individuals. Simon also helped to establish the fixed charge receiver scheme in the UK in conjunction with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Association of Certified Chartered Accountants.

In his role as an insolvency officeholder, Simon has realised and recovered all manner of assets, ranging from debtor ledgers, chattels, and various intangible assets. He has also realised various property interests over the years, ranging from small ransom strips through to multi-million-pound commercial property in the City of London. 

Simon’s sector specialisations include professional firms, especially solicitors, public sector (asylum accommodation providers), retail, construction and property. He has worked with HM Revenue and Customs, the City of London Police and the UK Border Agency and investigated the conduct of directors and debtors and recovered assets for creditors. 

Simon has maintained a close relationship with the insolvency regulators and was President of the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) 2007/8. He has since been re-elected as a council member of the IPA and chairs the Standards, Ethics and Regulatory Liaison Committee.