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English Part 26A Restructuring Plans no longer recognised in Germany in respect of German law governed debt held by German creditors

In a judgment of 9 July 2025 the Landgericht Frankfurt am Main (District Court of Frankfurt am Main) held (case 2-12 O 239/24) that a Part 26A plan sanctioned by the English High Court is not enforceable in Germany and that accordingly the affected German dissenting lender was entitled to sue the plan company, i.e. … Continue Reading

The Italian Court Confirms that the Principle of Competitiveness in Buyer Selection During Negotiated Business Crisis Settlements cannot be Dispensed with

The negotiated settlement procedure introduced by the Italian Code of Business Crisis and Insolvency (“CCII”), is a tool designed to facilitate the recovery of financially distressed companies through consensual, out-of-court solutions. Under Article 22(1)(d) of CCII, an entrepreneur may request the Court’s authorization to transfer its business (or one or more of its branches), in … Continue Reading

Application of the Insolvency Claw-Back Barrier under Article 16 of the EU Insolvency Regulation to Cross-Border Shareholder Loans

Article 7(m) of the EU Insolvency Regulation (2015/848) provides that the law of the EU Member State in which insolvency proceedings have been commenced in respect of a company determines whether certain acts carried out prior to the commencement of insolvency proceedings, (such as payments made by the company), are void, voidable or unenforceable and … Continue Reading

Update of German Law Aspects of Crypto Assets

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

Comparison of Directors’ Duties Across Europe

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

Distressed M&A Deals in Poland

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

Use and Abuse (?) of Restructuring Proceedings in Poland – How can Creditors Protect their Rights?

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

Aggregate’s UK Restructuring Plan Sanction Hearing: Adler in Action

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

Czech Republic’s New Act on Preventive Restructuring: Game-Changer in Creditor-Debtor Relationships

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

Prepared Liquidation – Pre-Pack Sales Under Polish Bankruptcy Law

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

Decision of the German Court Causes Waves For Investors but is Welcomed by Creditors of Insolvent Companies

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 Enforcement of Non-Consensual Restructuring Plans in Spain on the Shareholders of Limited Liability Companies

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

Germany leads the way with proposed legislation regulating crypto-assets safekeeping that will provide insolvency protection

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

What is in your Derivatives?

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

How Will The German Supply Chain Act Affect German Companies?

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

Potential Impact on the French Legal System of the Draft EU Directive to Harmonise Insolvency Laws

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

Germany’s Insolvency Code Amended In Light of Current Economic Crisis

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

Managing Your European Business in Light of Sanctions imposed on Russia

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

The Reform Of The Spanish Insolvency Act – Positive News For Spanish Companies

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

Restructuring Foreign Companies in England Using a Restructuring Plan

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 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
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