Mazars appoints Harris Waseem as a restructuring Director

Mazars has appointed Harris Waseem to its restructuring advisory team. Based in the UK’s capital, the new Director brings two decades of restructuring experience with him.

The economic impacts of Covid-19 have meant the UK’s restructuring landscape is set to evolve at a fast pace. With four-in-10 UK businesses now stating they will face solvency issues in the coming 12 months, advisory services are likely to play a huge role over the coming period, helping secure financial restructurings, and potentially becoming the solution of choice in the market. Advisory firms can provide directors and shareholders with an understanding of all the longer-term options available to them, and could help mitigate the easing of the Government’s Covid-19 support schemes.

In this context, Mazars has decided that the time is right to strengthen its restructuring wing. In anticipation of heightened demand over the coming months, Mazars has appointed Harris Waseem as a Director in its London office, bringing more than 20 years of professional services experience to the firm.

“I’m delighted that Harris has chosen to join the Mazars’ Restructuring Advisory team,” said Mark Boughey, a Partner in restructuring services at the firm. “His past experience, expertise and skillset makes him ideally suited to the team, further enhancing our advisory offering to our clients as we move out of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Prior to joining Mazars, Waseem was most recently a Restructuring Advisory Director with RSM, working in the SME and Upper Mid-Market space, across all major sectors, where the business is experiencing low level stress all the way through to highly distressed. Before that, he also spent 16 years at Big Four accounting and consulting firm PwC as a Senior Manager, gaining experience working with multi-bank situations, sponsor backed corporates and in emerging markets; often characterised by complex stakeholder dynamics.

Waseem regularly advises secured lenders, executive boards and shareholders in situations where businesses are undergoing change, underperforming or at crisis point. According to a release from Mazars, his appointment “demonstrates the firm’s continuing growth of the London and national restructuring advisory practice, and specifically the firm’s Special Situations Group.” The group is a national cross competency and sector team specifically brought together to assist clients and address a range of transactional needs and opportunities during and after the pandemic.

Reflecting on his new challenge, Waseem said, “I’m hugely excited to be joining the restructuring advisory team at Mazars. I’m looking forward to playing a key part in leading the continued growth of the advisory capability and supporting clients in navigating some of the economic headwinds and opportunities that lie ahead in the coming months.”