As 2022 comes to a close, 9fin’s European distressed/restructuring team of reporters and analysts are becoming increasingly busy, despite a Santa rally in risk assets. Restructuring activity has picked up in recent months, even though the macro picture is playing out in a less severe way than many had initially feared in mid-summer.

Several high profile situations such as Orpea and Adler Group are in the middle of restructuring processes, and the 2023 deal pipeline appears healthy — 9fin’s Restructuring Tracker has 15 expected deals. In addition, with levfin financing limited in availability and at a high cost, we expect a raft of amendment and extension requests in H1 2023.

In the first of a two-part report, we look back at the key events and trends in our review of 2022.

The second part will seek to provide some insight into 2023, following a series of calls with restructuring professionals and distressed funds.