A global professional and financial services firm which worked on the collapse of Lehman Brothers has opened its second UK office in Birmingham.
Alvarez & Marsal, which is headquartered in New York, specialises in services such as debt restructuring and advising creditors.
The new base at The Lewis Building, in Bull Street, joins its only other UK office in London.
The Birmingham office is spearheaded by former Deloitte restructuring specialist Omar Mirza as managing director.
Mr Mirza has been based in the city since 2001 and has considerable client experience, having advised on a number of high-profile turnaround and restructuring projects in the Midlands and nationally.
He said: "The vast majority of Midlands businesses are built on solid foundations.
"But, after a decade of cheap credit, many are faced with the challenge of managing over-leveraged financial structures at a time when margins are coming under pressure.
"These companies should take early action to best protect value for all stakeholders.
"We are here to help them and believe a local presence is important for our clients who want advice from people who know the local market but have access to global capabilities."
Mark Firmin, managing director and head of UK regional restructuring, added: "Alvarez & Marsal is committed to helping businesses transform across all key UK regions.
"Omar has unparalleled knowledge of the Midlands market and there is no better person to establish our presence in the region.
"If the right steps are taken, we believe the local business community will emerge from this period of uncertainty in a position of real strength."
