Buying SGH, page-160

I wouldnt worry too much about the barristers - there are two types of barristers that SG will brief

- those working on a 'no win no fee' basis. They never get paid up front, only at the end. So no issue/change (this is probably the majority of barristers given the SG file profile)

- those working on a fee basis. In these cases, its very rare that SG (or any law firm) will front the fee. SG will ask the client to front the fee and SG puts it in trust, then pays the barrister when the work is done (or, maybe, transfers it to the barristers trust account and agrees to its release when the work is done). So there is not really any issue here - its not coming out of SG cashflow.

However, barristers are the least of the problems in terms of creditors and cash flow. You can bet there are a lot of suppliers, mostly on 'pay in arrears' terms, who will be pushing for 'pay in advance' now. Admittedly this is a one off cash flow impact (you are bringing all expenses forward by 30 days, or whatever, but you arent changing the amount of the expense - other than the extra 30 days worth of over draft). Nonetheless, if cash flow is precarious and the banks are not flexible, it can create cash shortages elsewhere.