Live Event

Following the Money

Lessons from an investigative journalist on First Brands

Corporate financial disasters such as First Brands may seem sudden and shocking, but they often follow predictable patterns of risk and warning signs.

Join Robert Smith, Corporate Finance Editor at the Financial Times, and Sabrina Fox, Founder of Fox Legal Training, as they decode how escalating corporate crises develop and what you can do to spot them early.

Robert will share his go-to analysis tricks for spotting an escalating corporate disaster, teaching you how to:

  • Recognize critical red flags early, such as constant debt maturities and working capital unwinds
  • Understand the impact and risks of hidden off-balance sheet debt
  • Identify complicated supply-chain finance features that can mask risk
  • Spot problems stemming from related-party transactions and circular financing
  • How to use these tools to detect emerging risks before they become headline news and what the broader fallout means for lenders and the market

Questions?

To submit your questions for Robert Smith, please send them to info@foxlegaltraining.com.

19th November 2025

Session 1 - 9:30AM

Session 2 - 12:30PM

The session will be filmed live and later released as part of Fox Legal Training’s course offering. Attendees will be asked to sign a release form and will be the first to see the course unfold and have a chance to ask questions directly. 

Meet the Speakers

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Sabrina Fox

Sabrina Fox is the Founder of Fox Legal Training and Founder and former CEO of the European Leveraged Finance Association (ELFA). She is an expert in leveraged finance law, dedicated to helping professionals understand and analyze legal covenants in credit markets.

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Robert Smith

Robert Smith is the Financial Times's corporate finance editor. He has won several awards for both investigative and business journalism, including for his coverage of Greensill Capital and Thames Water. Robert and his colleagues at the FT first flagged brewing issues around First Brands Group's use of off-balance sheet financing weeks before its collapse.