Together with

Table of Contents

• EDITOR’S RAMBLE 🗣

• FEATURED REPORT 📰

• TOGETHER WITH BARBRI SQE* 🤝

• IN OTHER NEWS 🗞

• AROUND THE WEB 🌐

• STUFF THAT MIGHT HELP YOU 👌

EDITOR’S RAMBLE 🗣

Last week, I was in Chicago and decided to put this message on LinkedIn 👇️ 

I didn’t expect much from it (most of my LinkedIn connections are in the UK).

But then I got this DM:

So, I ended up meeting with Lucas — and we had a super long, interesting chat while on the Chicago Riverwalk.

Here’s my take-away: If you’ve got a free morning, I’d 100% suggest posting a message like this — you don’t know what connections it can spring up.

Plus, I’ll be doing this again at some point (follow me on LinkedIn if you want to see when).

– Idin

FEATURED REPORT 📰

🏛️ The court ruling that could save River Island

What’s going on here?

River Island, a fashion retailer, got permission from the High Court to go ahead with a restructuring plan. The company had warned in June that if the plan wasn’t approved, it would run out of money by the end of August. That would mean it couldn’t pay its debts on time and would be considered insolvent.

What is a restructuring plan?

Restructuring plans are a tool in English law that help struggling companies to keep trading. They were introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA), which came in during the pandemic to help support struggling businesses.

Before this law, struggling companies had some ways to try and survive, like company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) or schemes of arrangement. But these often had limits and weren’t always effective. CIGA added a new tool — restructuring plans — which let a company in financial trouble (but not yet insolvent) make a deal with its creditors to restructure its debts.

Think of it like this: a struggling company proposes a new repayment plan to its creditors — for example, delaying repayments or reducing what’s owed. Some creditors agree but some disagree with the plan. But if the court decides the plan is fair, it can be imposed even on creditors who voted against it. This stops a minority from blocking a deal that gives the company a chance to survive.

A restructuring plan can include things like:

• giving the company more time to repay its debts

• lowering the interest rate on those debts

• reducing the total amount owed (sometimes with creditors getting extra security over the company’s assets in return)

Because these changes directly affect what creditors are entitled to, they won’t all agree. Some creditors may feel they’re losing out compared to others. That’s why the plan will end up needing approval of the court — the court makes sure the deal is fair.

Why is River Island struggling?

In 2024-2025, River Island’s revenue fell by 15%, leaving it with a £32 million loss. This meant it wasn’t earning enough to pay back its debts, which is why it asked its creditors to approve a restructuring plan.

The drop in revenue was because of a few different things.

• ❓️ Unclear brand identity: River Island is seen as stuck in the middle — not cheap enough to compete with Primark, but not premium enough to rival M&S or Next. Analysts also describe its products and stores as stale.

• 🐢 Slow to adapt to trends: The company is owned by the Lewis family, who are reluctant to move away from their long-standing “affordable family fashion” identity. This has made it slower to change with consumer preferences.

• 💰 Higher operating costs: Since April 2025, employers’ national insurance contributions have increased. Companies must now pay for staff earning over £5,000 (down from £9,100) and at a higher rate of 15% (up from 13.8%). This has made staffing more expensive.

• 📱 Stronger online competition: Fast fashion giants like Shein and Temu operate only online, avoiding store costs. This lets them offer cheaper prices than traditional retailers.

What was included in River Island’s restructuring plan?

River Island’s plan focused on cutting costs and reshaping its business.

→ Closing stores: 33 of its 230 shops will shut, as more customers now prefer shopping online.

→ Lower rents: For 71 locations, landlords will cut rent by 25% to 100% (we’ll explain how later).

→ Job cuts: 110 staff members will be made redundant.

→ New funding: The Lewis family’s investment firm, Blue Coast Capital, will inject £40 million into the business to improve River Island’s in-person shopping experience.

How was River Island’s restructuring plan approved?

Restructuring plans always involve the court. First, the court decides how to split creditors (and sometimes shareholders) into groups, called classes. Each class is made up of people whose rights are similar enough to vote together.

At the meetings, each class votes on the plan. To pass in a class, creditors holding at least 75% of the total debt in that group (by value) must vote in favour.

In River Island’s case, the landlord class voted against the plan. That’s because it cut rents heavily. But the court has the power to approve the plan anyway — and that’s what it did here.

So why was River Island’s plan approved?

A restructuring plan has a special feature called a “cross-class cram down”. This means the court can approve the plan even if one group of creditors votes against it — but only if those creditors would be no worse off under the plan than than they would be in the “relevant alternative” (which usually means the company becoming insolvent).

For River Island’s landlords, this test was met. They’ll receive less rent under the plan, but if River Island had collapsed into insolvency, they would likely have received nothing at all.

Which law firms were involved?

River Island was advised by Greenberg Traurig, a US law firm with a London office that specialises in restructuring and insolvency.

The creditors didn’t share one legal adviser. However, one major landlord, British Land, was represented by Hogan Lovells. Hogan Lovells is also advising British Land on Poundland’s restructuring plan which also includes rent reductions.

How can you use this in your applications?

You can learn a lot from River Island’s restructuring plan that could help you in your applications — it really shows how insolvency laws work in practice:

Highlighting insights like these will show you’re thinking like a lawyer: spotting where the risk is, who’s involved, and how the law creates structure that lets deals happen.

If you can spot insights like these in your application (and link the legal and business impacts) you’ll show law firms that you can think like a commercial adviser — exactly what top firms want to see.

TOGETHER WITH BARBRI SQE* 🤝

The next 120 seconds could be your first step towards becoming a solicitor

Complete this short quiz from BARBRI to have the chance to win a fully-funded SQE Prep course worth £3,299.

On top of that, you’ll walk away with clear, personalised next steps to kickstart your legal career — plus you could win prizes along the way.

Here’s what you get (for free):

• A chance to win a full SQE Prep course from BARBRI (£3,299)

• Tailored guidance on what to do next in your career

• Insider tips and resources from legal experts

• Extra prizes just for taking part

Be quick — entries close this Friday (22 August).

So, don’t waste your summer guessing what to do next.

* This is sponsored content

IN OTHER NEWS 🗞

• 💼 Lewis Silkin had a big year, with revenue jumping 19% (to £119 million) and profit up 30% (to £41 million). The growth comes from its push into northern cities like Manchester, Leeds and now Glasgow, adding to its nine offices.

• 📨 Addleshaw Goddard and TLT advised on Card Factory’s £24 million purchase of Funky Pigeon from WH Smith. The deal is part of WH Smith’s shift away from old businesses to focus on travel retail — it also sold 480 high street shops for £76 million earlier this year. AG acted for Card Factory, while TLT represented WH Smith.

• 🌐 Wikipedia lost its challenge of the Online Safety Act that could force it to verify users’ identities. The Wikimedia Foundation argued this would threaten the privacy and safety of volunteer editors, but the High Court rejected its case. The government welcomed the ruling, saying it helps create a safer online world.

AROUND THE WEB 🌐

• 🎲 Game: Complete the definitions in this drag and drop word game

• 🍦 Sweet: A website shows a live map of broken McDonald’s ice cream machines

• 🤖 Robo: The first-ever World Humanoid Robot Games featured 500+ robots competing across 26 sports — here’s a couple of them fighting 👇️ 

  

STUFF THAT MIGHT HELP YOU 👌

• 📹️ Free application help: If you're applying to commercial law firms, check out my YouTube channel for actionable tips and an insight into the lifestyle of a commercial lawyer in London.