Crown prerogative dates back to the Magna Carta entitling the monarch to absolute priority for revenue related debt. Come 6 April 2020 will we really be heading back to feudal times and 1215? The proposal to reinstate Crown preference was announced as part of the Autumn Budget last year and came as a surprise to … Continue Reading
We are yet to see the true impact of Christmas trading in the retail industry although HMV is already a victim of the tough conditions for retailers. Additionally, Boots has announced a fall in sales and the launch of a “transformational costs management program” to save more than $1 billion and Next has confirmed that … Continue Reading
It is often common practice for small businesses to structure payments to a director (who is also a shareholder) through a combination of dividend payments and salary, in order to minimize PAYE liabilities and reduce tax. Consequently, rather than be paid a salary, a director is “remunerated” by dividend payments. This works when the company … Continue Reading
Paul Muscutt, London restructuring partner at law firm Squire Patton Boggs, talks to Andrew Tate, former R3 President, Chair of R3’s Policy Group and Partner at accountancy firm Kreston Reeves LLP, about conflicts of interest in the restructuring and insolvency profession*.… Continue Reading
On 26 August, the Government announced that it will be making changes to UK insolvency legislation. The changes are intended to support distressed companies and address issues highlighted by major company failures and include: the ability for all companies to apply for a moratorium a new insolvency process – the “restructuring plan”, enabling companies to cram … Continue Reading
The Insolvency Service intends to publish a new guidance notice to address the issues faced by employers in dealing with collective consultation when a company is facing insolvency, following consultation with the industry last year. The guidance note is expected to require insolvency practitioners to notify the government in advance of collective redundancy proposals and … Continue Reading
In the last week we have seen MPs criticise accountancy firms, KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PWC in their first report on the collapse of Carillion, describing the big four as “a cosy club” and calling for the firms to be forcibly broken up. Whilst not suggesting that the firms were to blame for the collapse, … Continue Reading
It is no great surprise that following the collapse of Carillion and with other retail businesses teetering on the edge, insolvency and corporate recovery is back in the news. Some of the biggest casualties of entities like Carillion are the employees. Luckily, in the Carillion failure many jobs have been saved, but there is still … Continue Reading
Directors of a company in financial distress will often turn to their professional advisors to assist in making decisions about the company’s future; whether that be their lawyers, accountants, bank, tax advisors or insolvency professionals. It is often a period of high pressure, where the right or wrong decision may have far-reaching consequences for an … Continue Reading
HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) has issued a consultation entitled “Tax Abuse and Insolvency: A Discussion Document” on how it proposes to confront those who misuse insolvency law as a means of avoiding or evading their tax liabilities. HMRC often describes itself as an “involuntary creditor” because it does not choose to trade with debtors. … Continue Reading
An effective and well-equipped insolvency and restructuring regime gives confidence to investors and financiers, enabling credit to flow through to businesses and boost economic activity, growth and innovation. In 1999, following the Asian financial crisis, the World Bank carried out a review of the international regimes to establish a set of key principles for effective … Continue Reading
Carpetright, the UK flooring company, has announced that it is considering a Company Voluntary Arrangement with the aim of “rationalising the company’s property portfolio in order to improve the long-term prospects of the business”. This is expected to enable the business to close unprofitable shops and reduce their rent bill. With 409 shops across the … Continue Reading
In an article that first appeared on LexisNexis on 26 February 2018, Jon Chesman examines a High Court decision which found the applicant liquidator of a company had made out her case that a transfer of stock from the company to the first respondent, a former director of the company, amounted to a preference and … Continue Reading
There was a magical place that’s now in administration. It’s called ‘Toys R Us’, Toys R Us’, Toys R Us’. This week has seen another two major retail casualties with the aforementioned much-loved toy shop and well-known electrical retailer Maplin going into administration within minutes of each other. As predicted in one of our recent … Continue Reading
Under German law, there are strict legal obligations for the managing directors of an insolvent company to file for insolvency. Failure to comply exposes a managing director to civil and criminal liability. It is therefore important for managing directors to know how to test whether their company is insolvent. One of the legal reasons for insolvency … Continue Reading
A recent ruling of the German Federal Civil Court (Bundesgerichtshof (“BGH”)) is a reminder of the risks which shareholders of a German company can face in an insolvency of their German subsidiary. Under the German Insolvency Code (“InsO”), claims for repayment of a loan granted by a shareholder who holds more than 10% of the … Continue Reading
Media attention has waned from the initial deluge of front-page headlines regarding the Carillion collapse. It would therefore be easy to be ignorant of the ongoing disintegration of the web of Carillion companies beneath Carillion Plc, the ultimate parent company of the Carillion group, which (according to its latest accounts) holds interests in over 350 subsidiaries … Continue Reading
A great deal of insolvency litigation is funded by non-parties to a claim – for example, by a creditor or an “after the event” (ATE) insurer. Ordinarily such arrangements and their precise terms are confidential and are not required to be fully disclosed to a counterparty in litigation. In the recent case of Re Hellas Telecommunications (Luxembourg) [2017] EWHC 3465 … Continue Reading
A recent decision of the High Court (Goel and another v Grant and another [2017] EWHC 2688 (Ch)) has provided a useful reminder that care must be taken when administrators enter into pre-contract negotiations and the risk of inadvertently entering into a binding contract before terms are finalised. It also deals with the risks of disposing … Continue Reading
“There’s a magical place, we’re on our way there, with toys in their millions, all under one roof – it’s called… Toys R Us!” The lyrics resonate with millions worldwide. The advert is as iconic as Coca Cola’s “Holidays Are Coming” commercial or the Sainsbury’s “Christmas is for sharing” World War 1 cinematic ad. Sadly, … Continue Reading
Much has already been written about the proposal for the “Second Chance” directive (“Proposal“) published in November 2016 which is still being debated by the EU bodies – and rightly so. Harmonisation of insolvency law across the EU is needed as one in four insolvency proceedings is a cross-border insolvency and creditors need to know what to … Continue Reading
The recent case of Farnborough Airport Properties Company and another v HMRC is noteworthy for the light it shines on the dimly lit and often difficult interaction between tax law and insolvency. The issues The two companies operating Farnborough Airport (the host of ‘the largest industry event on the aerospace calendar’) were members of the … Continue Reading
There are various ways misconduct can be reported in respect of companies and individuals. Establishing which authority has the power to conduct investigations of wrongdoing depends to a certain extent on the status of the companies and individuals. The Insolvency Service is empowered by law as the proper authority to investigate transgressions such as serious corporate abuse and the conduct of … Continue Reading
What is the GDPR? The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an EU regulation designed to strengthen and harmonise data protection rules for processing data of all individuals within the EU and covers the transfer of such personal data outside the EU. One of the aims of the new legislation is to give control back to individuals … Continue Reading
