Investment banking with a purpose: creating sustainable value.
Business Restructuring
In times of uncertainty or transformation, a solid capital structure is the anchor that allows companies not only to survive, but to thrive. At Heritage Financial Advisors, we specialize in redesigning the financial future of leading middle-market companies in Colombia, ensuring their stability and protecting the legacy they have built.
The Challenge: When Financial Structure Limits Potential
An inadequate liability structure can be a heavy burden that hinders growth and creates constant pressure on operations. Many companies, even the most successful, face challenges such as:
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Restrictive debt terms that limit flexibility to invest in new opportunities.
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High debt service that consumes cash flow and stifles profitability.
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A mismatch between debt maturities and the business's revenue cycles.
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Pressure from creditors in times of difficulty or market changes.
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The need for a more solid financial foundation to navigate an expansion, acquisition, or generational transition.
Ignoring these signs can jeopardize the company's long-term sustainability and the value built over years.
The Heritage Solution: Beyond Negotiation, a Strategic Reinvention
At Heritage Financial Advisors, we understand that a liability restructuring is much more than renegotiating interest rates. It's a strategic opportunity to realign your company's financial structure with your vision for the future. Our approach goes "beyond valuation" to become an exercise in value creation.
We act as your strategic partner, applying an immense level of financial, legal, and operational detail to diagnose your situation and design a tailored solution. Our team of negotiation and decision-making experts sits at your side of the table to defend your interests before financial institutions and other creditors, ensuring not only viability but also the optimization of your capital structure for the future.
To achieve financial strength to protect your legacy, Heritage provides business restructuring advice.
Our Business Restructuring Advisory Services
We offer comprehensive support to transform financial challenges into a platform for stability and growth.
Comprehensive Diagnosis of the Capital Structure
We conduct an in-depth analysis of your balance sheet to identify inefficiencies, risks, and optimization opportunities in your current debt structure.
Design of Optimal Capital Structures
We propose a new liability structure that fits your business's cash flow generation capacity, growth plans, and market conditions.
Negotiation and Relations with Creditors
We lead the negotiation process with banks, suppliers, and other creditors to achieve sustainable agreements that modify terms, rates, conditions, and covenants, preserving long-term business relationships.
Obtaining Resources for Refinancing
Consulting in Business Reorganization Processes
Through our network of investors and financial institutions, we structure and manage the raising of new capital (debt or equity) to refinance existing liabilities under better terms.
We provide expert support under Colombian law (Laws 1116 and 560), guiding the company through the process of reaching a reorganization agreement that ensures its continuity.
Our Process: A Disciplined Path to Stability
We guide our clients through a methodological and transparent process designed to minimize uncertainty and maximize results.
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Diagnosis and Viability
We thoroughly analyze the company's operational and financial situation to understand the causes of the difficulties and determine the long-term viability of the business.
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Negotiation with Interest Groups
We presented the plan and led negotiations with creditors, seeking an agreement that aligns the interests of all parties and guarantees the company's sustainability.
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Design of the Restructuring Plan
We developed a detailed strategic plan that includes financial projections, the proposed new capital structure, and a clear negotiation strategy.
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Closing and Implementation
We formalize the agreements reached through the corresponding legal instruments and oversee the implementation of the new financial structure.
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Post-Restructuring Support
We support management in monitoring the business plan and complying with new agreements, ensuring the company remains on the path to recovery and growth.
Frequently Asked Questions about Financial Restructuring
When is the right time to consider liability restructuring? The ideal time is preemptively, as soon as signs of financial stress are identified, such as difficulties meeting debt payments, pressure on cash flow, or non-compliance with bank covenants. Acting early significantly increases the available options and negotiating power.
How are the company's day-to-day operations protected during this process? Our role is to act as an intermediary that absorbs the pressure of negotiations, allowing the management team to focus on maintaining business continuity and profitability. In a Law 1116 process, the law itself offers protection mechanisms to preserve the company as an economic operating unit.
What are the early warning signs that a company may need to restructure its debt? Early signs include: recurrent use of short-term credit lines to cover operating expenses, lengthening payment terms to suppliers, steadily declining profit margins, and difficulty meeting financial indicators agreed upon with banks (covenants). Identifying these signs early is key.
What is the difference between a private restructuring and a reorganization process under Law 1116? A private restructuring is a direct and voluntary negotiation with creditors, without judicial intervention. It is faster, more flexible, and more confidential. A reorganization process under Law 1116 is a legal mechanism supervised by the Superintendency of Companies that protects the company from seizures and foreclosures while it negotiates a binding agreement with all its creditors.
My bank is offering me refinancing. Why would I need an advisor like Heritage? An independent advisor like Heritage works exclusively for you, not for the bank. While a bank seeks to protect its own interests, we analyze your entire liability structure and negotiate with all your creditors to find the best comprehensive solution for your business. Our negotiation experience and market knowledge allow us to achieve terms and conditions that you would be difficult to obtain on your own.
How will a debt restructuring affect my company's credit history and future borrowing capacity? A private and well-managed restructuring can actually improve creditor perceptions in the long term, as it demonstrates proactive and responsible management. While a Law 1116 process is public, once an agreement is reached and the company demonstrates its viability, it can gradually regain access to credit. The alternative (liquidation) is infinitely worse for the credit history.
When is the right time to consider liability restructuring? The ideal time is preemptively, as soon as signs of financial stress are identified, such as difficulties meeting debt payments, pressure on cash flow, or non-compliance with bank covenants. Acting early significantly increases the available options and negotiating power.
How are the fees for this service structured? Our fees typically include a fixed component (retainer) to cover the initial analysis and structuring, and a significant variable component tied to the success of the restructuring. This success can be measured by the amount of debt restructured, the savings in debt service, or the securing of new resources. This structure aligns our interests with yours.
What is the role of shareholders and management during a restructuring process? Management is essential to maintaining the business's operations and providing the necessary information for the restructuring plan. Shareholders must be aligned with the process, as their assets are at stake. They may often be asked to make new capital contributions as a sign of commitment to creditors. Our role is to facilitate communication and align the interests of all parties.