Following the UK government announcing that UK businesses will benefit from a reduction in energy costs to help combat rising energy costs, details of the proposed scheme have now been released. Under the scheme, a discount will be automatically applied to the bills of those businesses that are eligible to receive it, namely businesses that … Continue Reading
Last week, the new Prime Minster announced a 6 month scheme to help businesses with rising energy costs. Although further details are awaited, the scheme is likely to reflect the support being provided to consumers, by offering a guarantee that discounts the unit costs for gas and electricity. Recognising that businesses have not benefitted from … Continue Reading
HMRC as the UK tax authority is often the largest creditor in any insolvency, but has not always been willing to engage in the process. This has caused viable restructuring proposals to fail for lack of support and this sometimes results in HMRC not achieving the best return. HMRC recognise that this stance has frustrated … Continue Reading
There has been very little to indicate how HM Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”) might approach a restructuring plan (RP), following HMRC’s preferential status being restored in 2020. The reinstatement of HMRC as a preferential creditor potentially makes company voluntary arrangements non-viable if HMRC do not support, but what about RPs? RPs introduced for the first … Continue Reading
In PGD (in liquidation) Manolete Partners plc v Hope Mr Justice Zacaroli considered whether it was possible and/or appropriate to limit the quantum of relief granted in insolvency litigation to the amount required to pay the liquidation debts, costs and expenses where the claim had been assigned to a third-party litigation funder. Zacaroli J held … Continue Reading
Although there have not been many moratoriums since they were introduced, there have been a few, and according to data collected for this recent interim report, the costs of appointing a monitor and entering into a moratorium appear to be fairly reasonable. This will provide comfort to both corporates and practitioners who (understandably) might be … Continue Reading
The perceived costs of proposing a restructuring plan are seen to be the biggest inhibitors to using the process for SMEs. It is still a relatively new tool and insolvency practitioners, lawyers and the courts are still grappling with it, but as we have seen recently in Amigo Loans it can provide creative and innovative … Continue Reading
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
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
