Charles & Co.

What Charles & Co. does

Charles & Co is a privately held boutique advisory firm incorporated as Charles & Co Pty Ltd in Victoria, Australia, founded in 2013 and headquartered at Level 3, 179 Queen Street, Melbourne. The firm operates as a six-person practice specialising in insolvency, restructuring, and business advisory services for Melbourne-based SMEs and their stakeholders. The team comprises three ASIC Registered Liquidators — Founding Director Claudio (Claude) Trimboli, Director Ned Talic, and Senior Consultant Chris Young — supported by a small bench of additional staff, with combined sector experience exceeding 30 years (and described elsewhere as exceeding 50 years).

The firm delivers six interconnected service lines: Business Advisory, Restructuring Advisory (including Safe Harbour, informal workouts, Small Business Restructuring, and formal insolvency administration), Corporate Simplification Advisory (Members Voluntary Liquidation and group simplification), Debt Advisory, Personal Financial Advisory (bankruptcy alternatives, Part IX/X debt agreements), and Tax Debts Advisory (ATO debt and Director Penalty Notices). Revenue is generated through professional fees charged on a custom quote basis for advisory and statutory practitioner engagements, with a free initial consultation and a flexible fee structure for restructuring work. Documented engagements span liquidation, voluntary administration, DOCA, SBR, and turnaround mandates across industries including construction, manufacturing, retail, food processing, automotive, and property development.

The firm does not develop or deploy proprietary technology, and its core offering is practitioner expertise backed by statutory appointment authority under the Corporations Act 2001. Client acquisition is sales-led, driven primarily by referral networks with accountants, lawyers, and financial advisors, supplemented by content marketing (news & insights blog), webinars, and in-person presentations. Geographic operations are concentrated in Melbourne, with event-based outreach to Sydney beginning in October 2025. There is no disclosed funding, no parent company, and no external institutional ownership; the firm is founder-led by its three practitioner-directors.

Name

Charles & Co.

Legal name

Charles & Co Pty Ltd

Website

https://charlesandco.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Charles & Co is a six-person boutique advisory firm based in Melbourne, Australia, delivering insolvency, restructuring, and business advisory services to distressed SMEs and their stakeholders through three ASIC Registered Liquidators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insolvency and Restructuring Advisory

NAICS

Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (522310)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory (BPAHADAB)

Keywords

• Insolvency advisory
• Corporate restructuring
• Business turnaround
• Liquidation services
• Debt advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Restructuring & Insolvency Advisory Services: Charles & Co generates revenue through professional fees charged for advisory and practitioner services in corporate restructuring, insolvency, business turnaround, and liquidation engagements. Services include business advisory, restructuring advisory, corporate simplification/MVL, debt advisory, personal financial advisory, and tax debts advisory. The firm also acts as Small Business Restructuring Practitioners and Registered Liquidators, earning fees for these statutory appointments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Charles & Co. is a Melbourne-based boutique advisory firm that delivers professional insolvency, restructuring, turnaround, corporate simplification, debt and tax advisory services to SMEs, lenders and individuals facing financial distress. Engagements are led by three ASIC Registered Liquidators and span both informal advisory work and statutory practitioner appointments under the Corporations Act 2001.

Product overview

Charles & Co. is a boutique advisory firm offering professional insolvency and restructuring services from Melbourne. Rather than a unified software platform, it operates as a service-based practice organized into six interconnected advisory service lines: Business Advisory (strategic reviews and turnaround planning), Restructuring Advisory (safe harbour, SBR, and formal insolvency), Corporate Simplification Advisory (MVL and group simplification), Debt Advisory (creditor negotiations and refinancing), Personal Financial Advisory (personal insolvency solutions), and Tax Debts Advisory (ATO negotiations and DPN guidance). All services are delivered by Registered Liquidators with combined experience exceeding 30 years.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Advisory
• Restructuring Advisory
• Corporate Simplification Advisory

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported over 1,000 stakeholders through restructuring projects
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BDO Australia: Mid-tier accounting and advisory network with a national restructuring practice offering formal insolvency appointments and turnaround advisory. Wider portfolio than Charles & Co but overlaps in SME restructuring mandates.
• Deloitte Australia (Restructuring): Big Four restructuring practice offering formal insolvency, turnaround and creditor advisory. Overlaps at the larger end of Charles & Co's deal profile but competes for the same pool of mid-market Victorian engagements.
• FTI Consulting: Global advisory firm with a major restructuring practice in Australia. Competes for larger and more complex restructuring mandates; broader service portfolio but directly comparable in formal insolvency work.
• Grant Thornton Australia: Advisory firm with a dedicated restructuring practice delivering formal insolvency and turnaround services nationally. Overlaps with Charles & Co in Victorian SME mandates but at significantly broader scale.

Direct peers

• KordaMentha: Australia's best-known independent restructuring and advisory firm, with Registered Liquidators acting in formal insolvency appointments. Directly comparable service offering (restructuring, insolvency, forensic) at materially larger scale.
• McGrathNicol: Independent Australian advisory firm specialising in corporate restructuring, insolvency, forensic and advisory services. Closest direct competitor to Charles & Co with similar practitioner-led model and statutory appointment authority.
• Jirsch Sutherland: National insolvency and restructuring firm with offices in Melbourne and other capitals. Overlaps directly in Registered Liquidator appointments, voluntary administrations and SME restructuring engagements.
• Worrells: Specialist insolvency and restructuring firm with multiple offices across Australia. Comparable boutique-to-mid-market positioning, with statutory appointments and SME-focused restructuring work that overlaps directly with Charles & Co's core practice.
• Pitcher Partners: Australian accounting and advisory firm with a dedicated restructuring and insolvency practice. Competes for the same SME distressed mandates and statutory appointments in Victoria.
• Hall Chadwick: Australian accounting and advisory group with a dedicated insolvency and restructuring division. Comparable practitioner-led model, statutory appointments, and SME-distressed client base in Melbourne.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/charles-&-co-advisory-insolvency-restructuring

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Charles & Co.