Ankura launches restructuring consulting arm in Australia
American management consulting firm Ankura has continued its push into the Asia Pacific region with the launch of a restructuring practice in Australia. At the head of the new arm is Quentin Olde, who has been poached from rival FTI Consulting.
Founded late 2014, Ankura is a US-headquartered business advisory firm specialised in strategy, mergers & acquisitions, turnaround and restructuring, compliance, investigations, forensics, and risk management. Having initially been focused on the Northern American market, in the summer of 2018 Ankura instantly became a global player following the $470 million acquisition of two divisions from Navigant* – Transaction Advisory Services and Disputes, Forensics and Legal Technology.
Since, the consultancy has taken a number of steps to grow its presence in Asia Pacific, a region described by Ankura chief executive Roger Carlile as a key growth area for the firm. Regional offices added on the back of the Navigant acquisition – including Perth, Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong among other locations – have been expanded, and two months ago, long-term BDO executive Simon Michaels was appointed as the firm’s first ever chairman for Asia-Pacific and Europe, Middle East & Africa.
Now, Ankura has set its sights on nestling a position in Australia’s restructuring consulting space. This segment of Australia’s $5 billion consulting industry has seen major change in the past years, including consolidation activity (insolvency and restructuring firms PPB Advisory and Ferrier Hodgson joined PwC and KPMG respectively) and the entry of new players (McKinsey & Company for instance built a $200 million turnaround practice in five years’ time).
Amid a disruptive economic climate, demand for insolvency support has grown in the past years, and its slipstream, large players such as the Big Four, FTI Consulting and Grant Thornton as well as home grown players such as McGrathNicol have seen their fee income in the turnaround landscape grow. With Quentin Olde on board, Ankura aims at building a presence in the field, by extending its support to existing international clients (particularly those listed on the Australian Securities Exchange) and attracting new clients to its roster.
Quentin Olde
Based in Sydney, Olde brings over 25 years of experience of restructuring advisory in the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to joining the consulting firm, he worked six years for FTI Consulting in Sydney as a senior managing director in the firm’s corporate finance and restructuring practice. Previously, he spent 12 years at Taylor Woodings, latterly as a senior partner.
Throughout his career, Olde has led many significant restructuring and operational turnaround assignments in the Australian market including in the retail, property, mining, mining services, technology and hospitality sectors. He specialises in financial restructurings, formal insolvencies, distressed debt trading transactions and operational restructurings.
Commenting on his appointment, Michaels said: “We are excited to welcome Quentin to Ankura and are confident he will be an excellent addition to our team. With a track record of success and robust experience serving clients across Asia Pacific, as well as throughout Europe, Quentin’s expertise and knowledge will be invaluable.”
Kevin Lavin, global head of turnaround & restructuring at Ankura, added: “Having worked with Quentin in the past, I can personally attest to his level of dedication to clients and we are pleased to welcome him to the Ankura team. He is a recognised leader in the Australian turnaround and restructuring market.”
“I am incredibly excited to work with my colleagues to position Ankura at the forefront of global advisory services,” concluded Olde.
* In August, Navigant was acquired for $1.1 billion by private equity backed consulting firm Guidehouse.
