Debt restructuring is a process, in which the restructured entrepreneur and the creditor (often with the involvement of a restructuring advisor or mediator) negotiate new terms for the repayment of the existing debt(s). The purpose of restructuring is to make it easier for the restructured entrepreneur to repay its liabilities by adjusting their amount to its current financial situation and avoiding a situation of insolvency (bankruptcy).

Both parties can agree on various modifications to the terms and conditions, such as:

• extending the repayment period or changing the repayment schedule - spreading the commitment over a longer period of time, which reduces the amount of instalments.
• interest rate reduction - a reduction in the interest rate, leading to lower monthly instalments.
• writing off part of the debt - the creditor may agree to write off a certain amount of the debt.
• conversion of debt into other forms, e.g. shares - for larger companies this may include debt conversion for shares in the share capital.

Restructuring of debt (liabilities) can also take place under one of the four proceedings provided for in the Restructuring Act, i.e. proceedings for approval of an arrangement, accelerated arrangement proceedings, composition proceedings, sanitation proceedings and concern both sole traders and legal persons. The choice of the type of procedure depends on the time required and the complexity of the changes sought.

Importantly, the restructuring of debt (liabilities), can take place within the framework of a partial arrangement, i.e. we can restructure our debt and discuss restructuring only with selected groups of creditors such as public creditors (restructuring of liabilities towards ZUS, the Tax Office, the National Tax Administration (KAS) or the PFR) or financial creditors (Banks, Loan Funds, Leasing or others).