Approach
Value gets trapped.
Somebody has to force the resolution.
Some of the assets we take on are worth nothing. Most are stuck for reasons that can be unstuck — a cap-table that needs resetting, a legal claim that needs filing, a co-investor who needs out, a fund that has gone past its term. This page is how we think about that work.
One · Where it gets trapped
The capital stack.
Where in the stack a claim sits determines what it is worth when things go wrong, how fast a recovery can move, and how much leverage the holder has. The table below is the first thing we ask about any stuck position.
| Tier | Claim types | Characteristics | Typical outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior secured | Revolvers, term loans, first-lien notes, senior real-estate mortgages, aircraft ABS. | First-lien, collateralised, covenant-lite or tight. Recovery usually substantial and relatively fast when enforcement is available. | Usually substantial |
| Junior / second-lien secured | Second-lien notes, junior bridge loans, mezz real estate, aircraft finance. | Intercreditor agreements govern waterfall. Title complications and residual-value risk determine outcome. | Partial, negotiated |
| Unsecured claims | Senior notes, trade debt, critical-vendor claims, legal judgments, unsecured aircraft leases. | Unsecured bonds, vendor claims, maintenance reserves, subordinated guarantees. Recovery depends entirely on restructuring outcome. | Material but capped |
| Subordinated debt | Convertibles, mezzanine, developer loans, aviation mezz. | PIK toggles, equity kickers, standstill terms, performance-based recoveries. | Discount to par, sometimes zero |
| Preferred equity | Preference shares, orphaned LP interests, aircraft leasing equity, side pockets. | Liquidation preference, board-control rights, expired GP mandates, off-platform co-investments. | Nominal in most cases |
| Common equity | Shares, options, warrants, sponsor equity, co-investments. | Residual claim, often out-of-the-money, frequently underwater with no voting power. | Zero in most workouts |
Descriptions reflect the typical shape of each tier. Actual outcomes depend on specific circumstances, jurisdictional enforcement, counterparty dynamics, and what the cleanup reveals about the underlying. We do not publish numeric ranges because our outcomes are mandate-specific, not portfolio-index averages.
Two · Who holds it
Even the best holders get stuck.
Stuck positions are not a sign of bad stewardship. They are what happens when mandate, timing, or structure makes an asset hard to resolve in the ordinary course.
Banks and credit funds
Defaulted loans and non-performing exposures under regulatory pressure to write down. The barrier is usually reputational, not economic — an asset that functions on the book can still be impossible to resolve internally.
PE and VC funds
Legacy equity and SPVs in funds past their stated term. No exit path, fund life effectively over, remaining LPs split on how to wind down. GP attention has moved to the next vintage.
Family offices
Co-investments and side pockets that came through a relationship and have never been actively managed since. No internal team working the resolution. Often the right answer is to exit, not to hold.
Corporates
Subsidiaries, JV stakes, real estate, receivables that are no longer core. Governance or politics block action — the CEO doesn't want to write down a decision, the CFO inherits the mess.
High net-worth individuals
Direct investments that looked good five or ten years ago and are now illiquid with no obvious buyer. The sponsor has stopped replying. The position is an emotional burden as much as a financial one.
Three · How we do the work
Control first. Value second.
We do not wait for an asset to become investable. We take control early and build the resolution plan from there. Four steps, in order, applied to every engagement.
Step 1
Clean up ownership
Consolidate holders. Reset cap tables. Simplify the legal structure. Most stuck positions are stuck because nobody has clear standing to act — that is the first thing to fix.
Step 2
Fix the stack
Renegotiate debt. Enforce rights. Rework governance terms. Where there is a covenant, pull it. Where there is a dormant claim, file. Structural levers exist in most cases; somebody has to use them.
Step 3
Align the people
Replace management if it has failed. Fix broken mandates. Resolve disputes between co-investors, between holders and counsel, between the old sponsor and the remaining LPs. People are usually the binding constraint.
Step 4
Design a way out
Sell the asset. Pay down the liabilities. Package for a secondary. Liquidate for nominal and close the legal entity. The right exit depends on what the cleanup reveals — it is rarely the exit that was assumed on day one.
The honest close
Hope is not a strategy.
We make no promises about what any given asset is worth. Some of them are worth nothing, and the sooner that is acknowledged the faster the capital can be redeployed into something that does work.
What we do promise: we will take control, do the work, report honestly at each step, and tell you when to stop. That is the engagement. It is not glamorous and it is not a guarantee. It is what separates a resolution from a slow write-down.