Date Published: 30/06/2008
The evening, which was organised by the Journal, finished on a fantastic high when the College was awarded Deal of the Year.
In her acceptance speech, the Principal of the College Jackie Fisher, explained the rationale behind the deal which saved over a 1,000 jobs. She particularly singled out her advisors at Watson Burton and Gerald Krasner of the Newcastle office of Begbies Traynor for the advice given when dealing with the world of insolvency rather than the world of academia.
Gerald qualified in 1971 as an ACA with Peat Marwick Mitchell and subsequently joined Bartfields Chartered Accountants where he began to specialise in Insolvency. He was one of the first licence holders in 1986 when he specialised in CVAs before they became more popular. Gerald has worked on numerous successful cases including Krasner v Dennison, for which he won in the Court Of Appeal and as a consequence changed the treatment of a bankrupts' pensions.
In 2004 he became chairman and part owner of Leeds United AFC which had debts of circa £103 million. These were reduced to £24 million before the club was sold the following year. In 2007 he sold the insolvency division of Bartfields to Begbies Traynor and became a partner at the firm.
Gerald has lectured both nationally and internationally to fellow insolvency practitioners and other professionals, and has also been involved in committees for both R3 and Insol.
Gerald has spent over 15 years as a partner at Begbies Traynor and continues his insolvency career as a consultant in the Newcastle office working with high profile cases across the country.
