On 1 July 2004, 14 KPMG partners and 140 staff become part of the newly formed ‘McGrathNicol+Partners’. Before we could decide on a name, the financial press writing about the issues driving our separation very quickly dubbed us McGrathNicol based on the senior partners, Tony McGrath and Colin Nicol.

Our team was already working on the high-profile collapse of HIH Insurance at KPMG, and the engagement followed them to McGrathNicol. To this day, HIH Insurance remains the largest corporate collapse in Australian history.

We won a significant engagement in our first year, appointed administrators of South Australian-based automotive parts maker ION Automotive. ION had an estimated 3000 workers and owed bankers $350 million and trade creditors $120 million. Elements of the business was sold to Harley Davidson Inc and a consortium representing interests from Australia and Japan.

Our next large appointment was as administrators of mining services group, Henry Walker Eltin (HWE). HWE operated 16 mines globally, employing over 2000 staff across commodities including iron ore, coal, nickel and gold. We ran the business for a period of 12 months during which time it undertook a bottom-up restructure of the business leading to a successful sale. We repaid creditors in full and returned value to shareholders.

The first three engagements – HIH, ION and HWE – quickly highlighted the opportunity and need for in-house forensic accounting expertise to support our Restructuring business.

We founded our Deals practice, entering the world of mergers and acquisitions to support clients to achieve a good deal on the best possible terms.  

The GFC ushered in a period of extreme stress in global financial markets and banking systems, but with impacts that are still being felt today. We saw a surge in insolvency work. We grew quickly, staff numbers doubled.

We were appointed lead financial advisor to the Australian lender group, comprising eight banks and numerous US private placement noteholders, collectively owed circa AUD$4.5bn. We implemented a groundbreaking 3-year stabilisation plan and restructured Centro Properties Group assets.

In the same year, we were appointed as Receivers and Managers of ABC Learning Centres, Australia's largest provider of childcare services. At the time of our appointment, they operated over 1000 childcare centres nationally. We managed substantial regulatory and parliamentary scrutiny while restructuring the business for sale. We were able to turnaround and sell over 650 centres, securing thousands of jobs and childcare places.

Our next significant appointment was as Receivers of Australia's largest agricultural funds manager, Great Southern Limited, which promoted managed investment schemes in forestry, horticulture, and viticulture.

We are engaged by the financiers of Babcock & Brown to assist in the managed wind down and divestment of a portfolio of infrastructure and real estate assets around the globe. Our role involved obtaining new financing to support the solvency of much of the group at a time of great financial uncertainty. Over the following years we have realised over $2 billion in project equity for our clients.

We were engaged by the board to undertake a review of Leighton Holdings Limited following the issue of a material downgrade in earnings. The included examining two large infrastructure projects and the Middle East construction operations in order to identify and improve reporting and forecasting processes. This also led to a forensic investigation pertaining to a number of contracts that Leighton had won in Iraq. We worked with the company and their legal advisors to report to the board and assist with subsequent ASIC and AFP investigations.

We launched our Data Analytics practice to provide data-driven insights for clients seeking strategic and actionable advice.

Autodom was a large capacity e-coat, metal stamping, moulding and sub-assembly supplier to the Australian automotive sector. We were appointed Receivers by Ford and GM Holden and ran the business through to cessation of car manufacturing in Australia. We successfully executed a restructuring program including implementing cost reduction initiatives and a production consolidation program across the groups three domestic manufacturing facilities.

In the same year, we were appointed as Receivers and Managers of Banksia Financial Group, for two funds that raised over $650m from the public that were on-lent to borrowers. We established proactive investor and stakeholder communications programs, undertook a complete review of the loan portfolio and realised the loans to return funds to investors. Through a loan sale program, we returned 20 cents in the dollar to debenture holders within six weeks. Throughout our appointment, we returned over 80% of funds to investors.

We launched our Cyber practice to help clients with any cyber scenario – from reducing risk and strategies to increasing organisational resilience, to recovery from an incident and beyond.

We launched our Performance Improvement practice to help clients optimise operations, enhance efficiency, and achieve sustainable growth through tailored strategies and expert guidance.

In the same year, we were engaged to run the Project Management Office for UBS to assist with the strategic planning for its exit from its wealth management business in Australia. We were involved in managing the wind down and closure of this business and the off-boarding and transition of its clients and assets to Crestone.

During this year, we expanded our Valuations and Deals Practice to better support our clients in navigating complex transactions and maximising value.

We were appointed as Voluntary Administrators of the ASX-listed electronics retailer, with 390 stores under four different brands across Australia and New Zealand. After advising management and the board in relation to cash flow, solvency and options, we were appointed to then manage and sell the specialist Apple reseller business, in addition to achieving a number of legal recovery actions.

We launched our Geopolitical Risk Practice to help clients anticipate and navigate the complexities of global political dynamics, ensuring informed decision-making and resilience in an unpredictable world.

We grew our Canberra Government Practice to enhance our support for public sector clients, delivering tailored solutions that address their unique challenges and drive impactful outcomes.

The pandemic hit and throughout the three-year period, we ensured stability and support for our people. We retained all of our staff with their benefits, positioning the firm for a strong recovery post-pandemic.

We launched our National Security Risk Practice to provide clients with expert guidance and solutions to navigate and mitigate the evolving threats in today's complex security landscape.

We were engaged by the NAB and NSW Police to examine a multimillion-dollar fraud involving a senior bank executive and an external supplier. Our forensic investigation and later expert witness testimony, proved to be crucial in the setting out the fraud and tracing the use of the ill-gotten funds. Two people were later found guilty of defrauding the bank and each sentenced to 10 years and 15 years in prison.

We provided buy-side advisory and financial due diligence services to Allegro on their successful acquisition of Scyne Advisory, a complex carve-out acquisition from PwC.