It is often the case, that insolvency claims are pursued against former directors of the insolvent company or persons connected to them. It is also often the case, that such claims are assigned to a litigation funding company given lack of funds in the insolvent estate to pursue them. This is what happened in Lock … 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
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
It has almost been 12 months since the Administration (Restrictions on Disposal etc to Connected Persons) Regulations 2021 came into force on 30 April 2021. The regulations require an administrator to obtain creditor approval or a report from an independent evaluator in advance of completing a “substantial disposal” of the company’s property to a connected … Continue Reading
Often with new legislation, we might introduce it with words such as ‘much anticipated’ or ‘welcome’, but the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022 is for many landlords and tenants, too late, or unnecessary, because deals have already been done in respect of unpaid COVID commercial rent payments. The Act came into force on 24 March … Continue Reading
From today (1 April), creditors can present a winding up petition without (a) having to give 21 days to the debtor company to make proposals to pay, and (b) being owed a debt(s) of £10,000. Given that all temporary restrictions and processes have now ended, the ‘gloves are off’ when it comes to debt collection. … Continue Reading
The impact of Russia Sanctions has, as we have seen in the US with the first Chapter 11 filing (see our previous blog) started to have an adverse impact on businesses that have connections with Russia. The impact on supply chains, and the consequences for business remain at the forefront of discussions and in our … 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
In the final video, as part of our business recovery and resilience series, Aysha Fernandes (Commercial Finance Director at UK Finance), gives us some insight into what UK Finance expect to see during 2022 in terms of business recovery and lender support. To listen to Aysha’s answer click here. All other videos in this series … Continue Reading
As part of our business recovery and resilience series, our fourth video from Aysha Fernandes (Commercial Finance Director at UK Finance), answers this question as well as commenting on what trends UK Finance have been seeing as we start to come through the pandemic. To listen to Aysha’s answer click here. Our previous video answering … 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 the second of our short videos in relation to business recovery and resilience, John Alderton (Partner in our Restructuring & Insolvency team), responds to the question: As we are coming out of the COVID crisis, what should directors be thinking about? Please click here to listen to John’s answer. This series of videos are … Continue Reading
Identifying distress in your own business or those that you do business with is vital to ensuring its financial health. Some distress indicators are due to external circumstances beyond the control of the directors, but nevertheless can pose a threat to the ongoing success of the business, others are internal, indicating that the directors may … Continue Reading
In the first of our short videos in relation to business recovery and resilience, John Alderton (Partner in our Restructuring & Insolvency team), responds to the question: ‘There hasn’t been a wave of insolvencies, is business stress still there or are we through the worst of it?’ Please click here to listen to John’s answer.… Continue Reading
Last year we saw two pivotal judgments handed down, Regis and New Look. These both concerned challenges brought by landlords, as to the manner in which landlord claims were treated in Regis’ and New Looks’, company voluntary arrangements (CVA). In the New Look case, landlords sought to attack the company’s CVA from all angles, with … 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
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
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
With the end of all Plan B restrictions in sight, 2022 should (fingers crossed) be a better year for UK businesses who have faced a long and tough challenge managing issues such as Brexit, supply chain, the sustainability agenda, ESG, regulatory change and cash flow alongside the unpredictability of COVID. Throughout the pandemic we have … 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
We discussed the announcement that Bulb Energy Ltd (“Bulb”) was due to be placed into special administration in our previous blog outlining how the rules for energy supply companies work, the supplier of last resort (“SoLR”) regime and what energy supply company special administration entails. In this blog we look at why it was necessary … Continue Reading
In our second alert in the series, we consider the proposed new rent arbitration scheme and the draft Bill explaining how the process is expected to work, key points to note about the scheme and whether commercial landlords and tenants will use the scheme to resolve outstanding COVID rent arrears disputes. Access the alert here… 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
