Overview
Kieran Sharma is a London-based partner in Paul Hastings’ Financial Restructuring Group.
Kieran advises credit funds, private capital providers and other sophisticated financial stakeholders — as well as companies and their sponsors — across the capital structure in stressed and distressed situations. His experience spans liability management transactions, U.K. Part 26A restructuring plans and Part 26 schemes of arrangement, out-of-court restructurings, formal insolvency processes and distressed M&A transactions.
Prior to returning to private practice, Kieran served as a director on the European investment team at Strategic Value Partners (SVP), a global investment firm focused on distressed debt and private equity opportunities. In his role, he worked across several of the most notable cross-border European bankruptcy cases of the COVID cycle (including SVP’s investments in Celsa, Selecta, Swissport and Vallourec), for which SVP was either a lead or significant creditor. Kieran’s involvement in these transactions spanned initial underwriting of distressed credit opportunities, the structuring and negotiation of transactions, and representing SVP on creditor and ad hoc committees.
Kieran also has experience advising leading hedge funds and private equity houses in relation to their due diligence and review of European investment opportunities in stressed and distressed situations.
Kieran is ranked as “Up and Coming” for Restructuring/Insolvency by Chambers UK, Chambers Europe and Chambers Global (2026) and is recommended by Legal 500 UK (2024–26). In 2026 he was named to Turnarounds & Workouts’ “Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers” list and Global Restructuring Review’s “40 Under 40.”
Accolades
- Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers, Turnarounds & Workouts (May 2026)
- 40 Under 40, Global Restructuring Review (2026)
- Recommended,Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency, Legal 500 UK (2026)
- Sources praise Kieran as “commercially astute, highly responsive, and consistently calm under pressure.” He is further commended as “innovative, highly commercial and solutions focused, anticipating issues and proposing solutions,” and “the very knowledgeable Kieran Sharma benefits from buy-side experience, which makes his advice ever more so relevant.”
- Up and Coming, Restructuring/Insolvency, Chambers UK, Chambers Europe and Chambers Global (2026)
- Clients note that he is “technically extremely strong” and that “he’s very good at solving complex problems.”
- Recommended,Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency, Legal 500 UK (2024-25)
Education
- University of Warwick, B.A. (Hons), 2010
Representations
Creditor-Side Engagements
- An ad hoc group of Class B bondholders in relation to Thames Water’s first restructuring plan.
- The RCF lenders in relation to the restructuring of New Fortress Energy.
- Centerbridge Partners, as the largest lender to the Apcoa Group, in relation to its restructuring.
- An ad hoc group of senior secured creditors in relation to the restructuring of Fraikin.
- Sankaty Advisors on its acquisition, via a pre-packaged administration sale, of the Lambert Smith Hampton Group and its subsequent sale of the restructured Lambert Smith Hampton Group to Countrywide plc.
Company/Sponsor-Side Engagements
- Kaisa Group Holdings on the approximately US$12.3 billion offshore debt restructuring through the dual parallel schemes of arrangement at two different entities in their relevant jurisdictions. This is the largest offshore debt restructuring of a Chinese real estate company that has been sanctioned to date. This deal was named “Restructuring and Insolvency Matter of the Year” at Law.com International’s Asia Legal Awards 2025 and “Deal of the Year” by China Business Law Journal 2024.
- Sino-Ocean Group on the successful restructuring of its approximately US$6 billion offshore debt. This landmark project is the first-ever “Cram across” in which Hong Kong-governed debt was used to cram down English law-governed debt through a twin Part 26A restructuring plan and Hong Kong scheme of arrangement, and the first time that a Chinese real estate company has used an English restructuring plan. The deal has won the “Pioneering Spirit Award” at the 2025 Global Restructuring Review Awards.
- Atento, one of the world’s largest providers of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing services, in its successful restructuring and capital raise implemented via two parallel, inter-conditional and multi-class U.K. restructuring plans pursuant to Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006.
- Zhongliang Holdings Group Company Limited on the successful restructuring of its approximately US$1.2 billion of offshore debt.
- Famar on the successful restructuring, recapitalization and strengthening of its capital structure.
- Northgate Information Solutions, a then KKR & Co. portfolio company, in relation to its financial restructuring and reduction of its debt facilities by £390 million.
Matters may have been handled prior to joining Paul Hastings.