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Turnaround consulting in London has some notable distinctions compared to the US. Based on the most helpful WSO content:

  1. Types of Companies: In London, turnaround consulting often involves working with a mix of industries, including FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods), mining, government, and financial services. While the US may have a broader range of industries due to its size, the types of companies in London are diverse but may lean more towards sectors prominent in Europe.

  2. Hours and Culture: Hours in London are generally more protected compared to the US. For example, in London, there are legal protections for working hours, which can result in a slightly better work-life balance. However, this can vary depending on the firm and the specific project. Teams in London tend to run lean, giving analysts significant responsibility early on, which aids in professional development.

  3. Travel Opportunities: While most projects in London are UK-based (90%+), there are occasional opportunities to travel to Europe for international work. The travel aspect depends on the client and project requirements, but it may not be as frequent or exotic as one might expect.

In summary, turnaround consulting in London offers a mix of challenging projects, slightly better work-life balance compared to the US, and occasional travel opportunities within Europe.

Sources: Thoughts on Restructuring Groups?, I am a consultant at a non-MBB firm in London: Q&A, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/london-vs-new-york-city?customgpt=1, Advice for London applicants

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  1. Slightly different. The turnaround landscape here is weighted towards retail, leisure, consumer services, constructions, healthcare, tech-enabled services, etc, and less large-scale industrial, automotive, energy. There's probably more interfacing with PE sponsors and secured lenders than the US because of how insolvency procedures differ. 
  2. I would guess it's 70-80 hour weeks depending on the phase in the US,  and the UK will have those periods but it's generally 55-65.
  3. I think a bigger difference is the culture though, I think the US seems more fast-paced and direct compared to the UK corporate culture, which is more about diplomatic stakeholder management, consensus building, etc. 
  4. UK travel will mainly be European cross-border work and typically city-based, so Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam. Not always great locations, but mostly. Probably more so than the US where a lot of travel will be to mid-sized towns/Rust belt/Sun belt, etc. 
 

Are exit opps generally the same? Is it viewed with the same prestige and competency that Americans view their rx consultants?

 

Analyst 1 in IB - Cov

Are exit opps generally the same? Is it viewed with the same prestige and competency that Americans view their rx consultants?

Depends on the tier of firm and practice area. 

Top tier/pure turnaround firms are viewed with the same prestige probably. 

It's a bit less operationally aggressive than the US though, because of how formal the UK insolvency process has historically been. That is changing and it's aligning more closely with the US approach, so there's less of a "statutory" and "accounting-focused" reputation.

Exit ops are probably the same: special situation PE funds, but people are typically hired into portfolio operations/value creation teams instead of pure deal-side investment teams. 

Obviously less exits to corporate than in the US, but that's across consulting. 

 

So the turnaround guys are still focused on operational performance improvement, right? trimming the fat, doing everything they can operationally to preserve equity value (assuming debtor side)?

I know they can be looped in to the more formal statutory processes, but is the main mandate generally to intervene before that point and implement operational improvements? 

Also, is there a meaningful volume of debtor-side work involving overleveraged sponsor-backed companies where the buyout has failed? That is what primarily interests me about the US landscape. 

 

How do people typically break into this? The recruitment process in America seems very oriented towards people with CPAs / accounting backgrounds.

Im currently in IB at a BB in NYC but I am desperate to leave to something more strategy and analysis oriented. This is one path someone recommended but there’s just little info on how to break into

 

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