Business recovery and insolvency specialist Dave Riley joins Azets

Dave Riley has joined Azets as a partner. He arrives at a time when the UK faces a rise in insolvencies, and a bump in demand for Azets’ restructuring services.

Figures also show that housebuilding in the construction sector – a key bellwether of economic health –  has plummeted to levels not seen since the pandemic in May 2020 and that the wider construction sector suffered its 12th consecutive month of contraction – the longest negative run since the financial crash of 2007-09. Azets, responding to latest insolvency figures by the government, believes that it is “highly likely that the total for 2025 will see higher numbers than 2024, and that insolvencies will increase in 2026.“

Speaking on the challenges ahead, Riley said, “There are companies large and small which are financially unravelling in what continues to be a severely testing climate for so many businesses – my colleagues and I at Azets are on hand to advise directors and stakeholders on how to address, amongst a range of pressing issues, trading underperformance and pressure on working capital.”

He joins Azets’ business recovery and insolvency service, as a partner in the firm’s Manchester office. He will work with the firm’s wider restructuring and insolvency team, including Leeds-based partners Jonathan Amor and Richard Oddy who cover Yorkshire and The Humber and the North East.

Riley brings deep experience in the lender market and insolvency to the role. He was most recently a managing director with Kroll’s financial risk and advisory practice – helping with his focus at Azets, on asset based lending, restructuring and advisory.

Louise Brittain and Matthew Richards, joint UK heads of restructuring and insolvency, commented, “Dave is a highly respected practitioner in his field and will help us with businesses in the North West and further afield that face numerous financial challenges.”