Chris Cockerill

Chris has over 17 years of restructuring and advisory experience and leads PwC's covenant team in the Leeds, covering Yorkshire and the North East. He works at the forefront of market developments, helping trustees and corporates on schemes of all sizes — from <£10m in assets to those £1bn+ — navigate the new Funding Code requirements and develop scheme strategies which deliver both trustee and sponsor objectives.

His main specialisms include:

• Supporting Trustees and Corporates in assessing options and developing long-term scheme strategy;
• In-depth Funding Code expertise, including application to not-for-profit organisations, non-departmental government bodies and charities;
• Bringing commercial transactional experience into stakeholder discussions and negotiations;
• Detailed financial analysis and forecast assessments for covenant review and monitoring;
• Clear recommendations and developing innovative solutions for trustees on the impact of transactions or financial changes at employers.

Chris has played a key role in the development of PwC's long-term covenant prospects approach, helping trustees use the Funding Code to align scheme strategy and journey planning with covenant risks. Covenant is a critical element in endgame decision making, and bringing those skills alongside the wider range of strategic options and stakeholder views is increasingly a key focus of Chris's work.

Whilst Chris continues to deliver a significant volume of core covenant-related work, he is increasingly working with clients with broader strategic projects, including delivery of the first M&A related Clara transaction, building run-on frameworks with appropriate covenant protections and advising on changes to legacy ABC structures. Chris’s practical and collaborative approach is focussed on bringing stakeholders together to find the right outcome for each scheme.

Chris also leads PwC’s small scheme covenant proposition, providing cost-effective valued covenant advice to help those schemes navigate new regulatory requirements and consider long-term options.

As a qualified insolvency practitioner, Chris is able to bring in-depth restructuring expertise to situations, including advising trustees on the implications of recent legislative changes which can impact scheme position. He has experience of working across multiple sectors and organisation structures, from PLCs to family-owned businesses and not-for-profit entities.