Our recently updated article considers how EU and German civil and regulatory law approach crypto assets with a particular focus on how those types of crypto assets are dealt with in an insolvency. In this article we explore the different types of crypto assets there are, the legal nature of them, how crypto assets are … Continue Reading
This article, that was recently published in INSOL, provides a comparison of directors’ duties between several European jurisdictions – England and Wales, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. It explores the role of directors and their general duties and obligations in a going concern scenario and examines how those duties might change … Continue Reading
The post-pandemic anxiety on the European markets was largely due to the anticipated wave of bankruptcies. High interest rates, surging energy prices and out-of-control inflation took their toll on many European businesses. Although the doomsday scenario did not come to pass, we have been seeing increasingly more restructurings and insolvencies. The Polish market is no … Continue Reading
The statistics are clear that the number of restructuring proceedings in Poland is on rise. Among all types of restructuring proceedings available in Poland, the procedure which is of most interest is the approval of an arrangement, primarily because it is the least formal and it offers special protection against enforcement. However, with the increase … Continue Reading
On 7th February 2024, Mr Justice Richards heard closing submissions in the English High Court for a contested sanction hearing for Aggregate Group’s Part 26A restructuring plan. This hearing presented one of the first opportunities to analyse how the Adler decision will affect restructuring plans going forward.… Continue Reading
As we reported in a previous blog the German legislator in November 2022 introduced the Law on the Temporary Adaption of Restructuring and Insolvency Law Provisions to Mitigate the Consequences of the Crisis (SanInsKG). This addressed the difficulty of companies assessing their solvency during the crisis at that time, in particular as a result of … Continue Reading
On 23 September 2023, the new Act on Preventive Restructuring (284/2003 Coll.) entered into effect in the Czech Republic (the “Czech Preventive Restructuring Act”), incorporating the EU Directive 2019/1023 on preventive restructuring frameworks in the Czech legal environment. This legislation has been designed to enable debtors in financial difficulties to continue business by changing the … Continue Reading
Amid the current market uncertainties, distressed asset sales are likely to rise. International investors are looking for efficient solutions, preferably ones that reflect solutions in their home jurisdictions. One popular mechanism is the use of pre-pack sales. A pre-pack sale manages the adverse impact of insolvency proceedings on the distressed company’s business, while reducing the … Continue Reading
In September 2023, the insolvency administrator of the insolvent Wirecard AG began reclaiming dividend distributions for 2017 and 2018 from shareholders. This is following a judgment of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in March 2023 (BGH judgment of March 30, 2023 – IX ZR 121/22). In that judgment the BGH ruled that in the … Continue Reading
The implementation, just over a year ago, of Directive (EU) 2019/1023 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on Preventive Restructuring Frameworks, has meant a real Copernican shift in Spanish insolvency law. In particular in the field of pre-bankruptcy law, as it has established a new model based on Chapter … Continue Reading
The European Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 – MiCA), which entered into force on 29 June 2023, is a significant new regulation that will impact the treatment of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. MiCA requires the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to develop a series of regulatory technical standards (RTS) and implement technical … Continue Reading
Recent market shocks (from the 2022 mini budget which triggered a pension fund crisis to more recent developments with respect to Credit Suisse, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank) will prompt market participants to review their hedging arrangements. There are several matters to take into account when market participants start to experience distress, and in … Continue Reading
Businesses around the globe, including those situated in Germany, continue to face difficulties because of disruptions in their supply chain created, in particular, by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. To add to that, the new German Supply Act on Corporate Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (the “Act”) is likely to place further pressure on … Continue Reading
On 7 December 2022, the European Commission unveiled a draft directive (2022/0408 (COD)) (the “Directive”) proposing to harmonise certain aspects of insolvency laws across the European Union[1]. This blog specifically discusses the impact of the draft Directive on French law. For a more detailed and general analysis of the draft Directive, see our alert. The … Continue Reading
The Law on the Temporary Adaption of Restructuring and Insolvency Law Provisions to Mitigate the Consequences of the Crisis (SanInsKG) was published in the German Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger) today (8 November 2022) and will become effective in German law tomorrow (9 November 2022), following a very quick legislative process. Purpose of the SanInsKG SanInsKG is … Continue Reading
The huge and devastating impact of COVID-19 on people, economies and business was unforeseen, and although (in the UK, at least, with all restrictions now lifted) the pressures created by COVID-19 are hopefully a thing of the past, businesses are seeing new challenges impacting recovery, trade and growth. It is saddening to watch the developments … 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
A restructuring plan may well be a very effective way of restructuring a foreign company. It has several advantages over a scheme of arrangement and with a relatively low entry threshold, the English court has already sanctioned at least one plan for a foreign company in the relatively short time that it has been available. … 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
Since 31 December 2020 insolvency proceedings opened in England will no longer benefit from automatic recognition in an EU member state. Instead an application will need to be made for recognition in the relevant member state where there are cross border assets or an establishment. Our quick guide gives an overview of the recognition procedure … Continue Reading
After its publication in the German Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger) on 29 December 2020, the Law for the Further Development of the Restructuring and Insolvency Laws (SanInsFoG) came into force in Germany on 1 January 2021. The major part of this new law, the Law on the Stabilisation and Restructuring Framework for Enterprises (StaRUG), introduces a … Continue Reading
For derivative transactions that are relocated from the United Kingdom to the EEA or newly concluded there, in many cases new master agreements must be concluded between the involved parties. The total volume of European derivatives trading (measured by open gross notional amount) amounted to around €681 trillion at the end of 2019 as announced … Continue Reading
Our latest updated guide setting out the financial support measures available to businesses across Europe and the Middle East is now available here.… Continue Reading
