Cynthia Nelson

Cynthia Nelson has been assisting clients to successfully restructure their real estate interests for more than 30 years and has extensive experience advising owners, secured lenders, creditors and other constituents to maximize and recover value. Ms. Nelson has expertise in connection with large-scale land development, master-planned communities, retail, office, residential, hospitality and other land uses, as well as complex financing and capital structures.

Ms. Nelson assists clients in evaluating, developing and implementing turnaround plans and restructurings, in both judicial and non-judicial circumstances, and in providing litigation support and testimony in adversarial proceedings. Her work includes conducting acquisition and financing due diligence; developing and implementing asset disposition plans to maximize value; negotiating resolution of troubled credits; evaluating insolvency; investigating potentially fraudulent transfers; and determining damages regarding contract breaches and tort claims.

Prior to its acquisition by FTI Consulting, Ms. Nelson was a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Business Recovery Services group. Preceding this role, she was a senior associate at Jones Lang Wootton USA, an associate at Laventhol & Horwath in its Real Estate Advisory Services practice and a development assistant at Valencia Company/Newhall Land & Farming.

Ms. Nelson is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars. She has been a panelist at programs sponsored by the American Bankruptcy Institute (“ABI”), the California Bankruptcy Forum, the Financial Lawyers Conference and the American College of Bankruptcy, among others. Additionally, she served as co-chair of the 2016 Global Turnaround Management Association (“TMA”) Conference and the 2019 TMA Distressed Investing Conference.

Ms. Nelson has also published articles in Real Estate Finance Journal, ABI Journal, CPA Expert, Shopping Center Business, Daily Bankruptcy Review, Journal of Turnaround Management, Socio-Economic Planning Sciences and Urban Land, among other publications.

Relevant Experience:

• Led real estate teams as financial advisor to the unsecured creditors committees (“UCC”) in connection with the Chapter 11 proceedings of JCPenney, Sears and Toys“R”Us
• Served as a court-appointed Chapter 11 trustee for South Edge LLC (Inspirada), a master-planned community located near Las Vegas
• Served as a court-appointed receiver for Talisker Club near Park City, Utah; led the restructuring of a master-planned golf and ski resort community
• Led an engagement as financial advisor to the UCC for the bankruptcy of the U.S. affiliates of Regus Corp., a global provider of flexible office solutions
• Advised lenders and creditors in the bankruptcies of major regional mall real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), including General Growth Properties, PREIT and Washington Prime Group
• Led stakeholders regarding restructurings of film exhibitors, including Edwards Theatres, General Cinemas, Mann Theatres and Studio Movie Grill
• Advised secured lenders on interest rate and plan feasibility issues re single asset real estate cases
• Advised bondholders on the restructuring of credits involving military housing and troubled public sector entities

Awards & Recognitions:

• Distinguished Alumna College of Environmental Design, California State Polytechnic University (2019)