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
In the case of Caversham Finance Limited (in administration) [2022] EWHC 789, the court considered whether errors in a notice to creditors seeking consent to extend an administration made the extension invalid. This case is important as it shows the court’s approach to omission of prescribed information in notices to creditors. The information that was … Continue Reading
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
The Australian government is consulting on a proposal to expand the role the Takeovers Panel plays in control transactions, with an aim of reducing the time and costs of mergers and acquisitions. The proposal includes options for the Takeovers Panel to regulate control transactions by scheme of arrangement. This article considers the proposed reforms and … Continue Reading
On 5 April 2022, the UK government published the first review of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (the Report). We have produced this alert, that selects a few points from the Report that we think are of interest to practitioners. In particular: proposed changes to the Rule on timing and dating notices of … Continue Reading
In the common law world, Australia is a global market leader in terms of intense litigation in class action and corporate collapse contexts. It is, therefore, not surprising that contradictors are becoming increasingly common in heavily contested litigation. In our latest alert in our litigation funding series, we consider whether contradictors will have an important … Continue Reading
As the conflict in Ukraine enters its second month and the list of sanctions and restrictions imposed by the United States, the European Union and other countries increases to punish Russia, the effects of the sanctions will become more apparent and are expected to have profound and lasting effects on a large number of industries. … Continue Reading
A lot is said about directors’ duties – ensuring that they are complied with to avoid potential claims resulting in personal liability – and that remains the case. However, as officers of a limited liability company, directors should also be aware of the circumstances in which they could be personally liable for the company’s tax … Continue Reading
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
In our previous blogs, we discussed the announcement that Bulb Energy Ltd (“Bulb“) was placed into special administration and considered the reasons why special administration (as opposed to ordinary administration) was deemed necessary in Bulb’s case, as well as providing an overview of how special administration differs from ordinary administration (and the supplier of last … Continue Reading
In our latest article as part of our litigation funding series, we consider the decision of the Victorian Supreme Court to award a group cost order (GCO). Although it is perhaps too early to be certain whether GCOs will work as the legislature intends (and they are currently only available in Victoria) there are a number … Continue Reading
The Australian High Court has handed down judgment in a long-running dispute concerning former ASX listed Arrium Limited. The decision will be welcomed by individuals (particularly shareholders) and litigation funders, who may be seeking to conduct investigations into potential claims against a company in external administration, counterparties to that entity, its former or current advisors … Continue Reading
The regulation of litigation funding remains a hot topic in Australia. In 2020 significant reform occurred with the Corporations Amendment (Litigation Funding) Regulations 2020 (Cth) (Regulation). The Regulation required litigation funders to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence and be registered as a managed investment scheme for any class action. It also subjected litigation funders … Continue Reading
At the end of 2021, the Spanish government approved draft reforms of the Spanish insolvency laws that transposes Directive (EU) 2019/1023 of 20 June 2019 on preventive restructuring frameworks into Spanish law. The reform will bring about a comprehensive change in insolvency proceedings in Spain. So what are these changes and what effect will these … Continue Reading
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 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
In the context of the EU Directive 2019/1023/UE of 20 June 2019 (“Directive”) and in the aftermath of the Covid crisis, France has reformed its insolvency legislation. The purpose of the legislation is both to implement the requirements of the Directive into the French legislation, but also to tackle the consequences of the Covid crisis … Continue Reading
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
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
The recent case of Re A Company [2021] EWHC 2289 (Ch) outlines how the coronavirus test for winding up petitions will be applied by the Courts. Taking a similar approach, to the cases of Newman v Templar Corp Ltd [2020] EWHC 3740 (Ch) and Re PGH Investments Ltd v Ewing [2021] EWHC 533 (Ch), both … Continue Reading
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
We highlighted in our previous blog, the pivotal role that HMRC could play in ensuring the survival of UK businesses when all COVID restrictions are lifted and the government’s various temporary support measures come to an end. The Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has now assured business that HMRC will take a “cautious approach” to recovering … Continue Reading
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
The pandemic and various lockdowns have been tough on the landlord community. The last few days have not made that any easier. First, the New Look decision dismissed the challenge mounted by a number of landlords (see our blog here ). Then on 12 May 2021 the landlord community was dealt another blow by the … Continue Reading
