Squire Patton Boggs

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Personal liability for PAYE, and all that Hoey (UK)

The Court of Appeal recently handed down its judgment in the Hoey case. The case is noteworthy because it helps illustrate the extent of HMRC’s powers to collect tax by shifting compliance obligations from one person to another. As can be readily appreciated, this could be particularly of note for directors of companies that have … Continue Reading

Smile Telecoms – Second Restructuring Plan Sanctioned

Smile Telecoms Holdings Limited (“Smile”), a Mauritian company, has recently had its second restructuring plan sanctioned by the High Court in England.  The case contains some important markers for those involved in restructuring plans, particularly those plans which involve international elements or which seek to prevent out-of-the-money creditors from voting on the plan. Background Smile’s … Continue Reading

Business Recovery: How Should UK Companies Approach HMRC for Support?

As part of our business recovery and resilience series, our third video from Rob O’Hare (PSL in our Tax  team), responds to the question: How should companies approach HMRC for support and what support might they expect?  To listen to Rob’s answer click here. We will also shortly be releasing an alert explaining the situations … Continue Reading

Failure to file a HR1 form (even if inadvertent) could result in an administrator facing criminal prosecution

Employment law and insolvency law can sometimes have a strained relationship, particularly when laws safeguarding employee rights find themselves in conflict with an insolvency practitioner’s duty to act in the interests of all the creditors (as opposed to any one group). But the case of Palmer vs Northern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court should be heeded by … Continue Reading

Supply Chain Risk and Increasing Costs: How Are UK Businesses Building Resilience?

Supply chain issues are not new, but following the lifting of coronavirus restrictions in the UK and the hope that UK businesses will bounce back from a prolonged period of suppressed (or no) trading, they are having an acute impact on recovery. Disruption, delay and increased costs were compounded by the pandemic.  But these issues … Continue Reading

Directors of Dissolved Companies and COVID Fraud

On 12 May 2021, The Rating (Coronavirus) and Director Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Bill was introduced to Parliament. The Bill passed through the Commons stages unaltered and recently passed the Committee stage at the House of Lords on 10 November 2021. The Report stage will be taking place on 1 December 2021.… Continue Reading

Nero CVA challenge – part two: the rejection of the challenge

In our earlier blog, we considered the application to strike out the challenge against the Caffè Nero company voluntary arrangement (“CVA”) (Nero Holdings Ltd v Young) and the rejection of Caffè Nero’s strike-out action by the Court. In particular, the Nero case focuses on electronic voting (which is increasingly popular in the current climate) and … Continue Reading

A Return from the Edge? A New Policy Statement from the UK Government on Commercial Rent Debts

For some time, the government has been considering how best to manage the billions of estimated rent arrears in order to avoid a flurry of winding-up petitions and evictions. This requires a careful balance to protect both landlords and businesses in need, which proposed legislation to ringfence certain rent debt seeks to do. In their … Continue Reading

Nero CVA challenge – part one: The pre-emptive strike (out)

CVA challenges have been in the spotlight recently and the story continues with Nero Holdings Ltd v Young in which the court considered an application to strike out a  CVA challenge claim. Although there is nothing ground-breaking in the court’s reasoning to dismiss the strike out/summary judgment application, its detailed reasoning will offer some helpful guidance … Continue Reading

UK Spring Budget 2021 – The Long Road to Recovery: Taxation

The UK Spring Budget Statement delivered by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, on Wednesday 3 March 2021, laid bare the scale of the economic damage done by COVID-19. The Chancellor’s focus was on initiating an investment-led recovery, to incentivise investment, productivity and growth and to build a new, innovative and “green”, UK economy. In … Continue Reading

The Supreme Court Confirms That Passive Retention of Property Does Not Violate Section 362(a)(3)

On January 14, 2021, the Supreme Court unanimously held in City of Chicago v. Fulton that a creditor’s passive retention of a debtor’s property does not violate section 362(a)(3) of the Bankruptcy Code. The Court’s 8-0 decision (Justice Barrett did not participate in the consideration or decision of the case) may have the unintended effect … Continue Reading
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