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
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
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
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
As has been widely reported, the recent energy price volatility (coupled with the price cap limiting suppliers’ ability to pass increased costs on to consumers) has caused a number of energy supply company failures. Yesterday saw the announcement of the collapse of Bulb, one of the UK’s largest energy suppliers, with it being due to … Continue Reading
The UK Government has today indicated what will happen at the end of the month, when the temporary restrictions on winding up petitions are due to lift.… Continue Reading
Opening the door for the SME market, Sir Alistair Norris has sanctioned the first ever restructuring plan for a “mid-market” company. The plan sanctioned in Amicus Finance PLC (in administration) is also the first restructuring plan proposed by insolvency practitioners and the first to cram down a secured creditor. The sanction judgment is short, but … Continue Reading
The recent case of Re A Company [2021] EWHC 2289 (Ch) outlines how the coronavirus test for winding up petitions will be applied by the Courts. Taking a similar approach, to the cases of Newman v Templar Corp Ltd [2020] EWHC 3740 (Ch) and Re PGH Investments Ltd v Ewing [2021] EWHC 533 (Ch), both … Continue Reading
In this third alert, we consider the findings in the New Look and Regis CVA challenge cases from the point of view of valuing landlord claims, counting the votes of unimpaired creditors and disclosure. Both of these challenges cases alleged that there has been non-disclosure, and therefore a material irregularity, and challenged the way that the landlords’ claims … Continue Reading
Following the pivotal decisions in the New Look and Regis CVA challenge cases, where do the findings in those cases leave retailers, landlords and insolvency practitioners? In a series of alerts we will consider the key takeaways for landlords, the position of retailers and the impact of the findings for insolvency practitioners. Albeit that the … Continue Reading
Last year, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 made a number of changes to the UK insolvency landscape. Amongst the changes, was the addition of the “ipso facto” regime, which prevents suppliers terminating supply contracts as a result of insolvency-related events. Up until 30 June 2021, “small suppliers” were exempt from the regime. However, … Continue Reading
We highlighted in our previous blog, the pivotal role that HMRC could play in ensuring the survival of UK businesses when all COVID restrictions are lifted and the government’s various temporary support measures come to an end. The Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has now assured business that HMRC will take a “cautious approach” to recovering … Continue Reading
There is a faint light at the end of the COVID tunnel for commercial landlords regarding timings and the ability to recover unpaid rent arrears. The UK Government has announced an extension to the current prohibition on forfeiture and winding up petitions, to enable it to introduce new legislation to help manage the £6bn estimated … Continue Reading
Both Spain and Italy have introduced recent changes to their insolvency laws. The changes are covered in our global guide and cover: Spain The obligation for a debtor to file for bankruptcy within two months of becoming insolvent is suspended until December 31 2021. Updates to the Modification of the Creditor’s agreement measures. Postponement of … Continue Reading
On Monday, Zacaroli J handed down his eagerly anticipated judgment in Lazari Properties (2) Limited (and others) v New Look Retailers Limited (and others). The New Look landlords challenged the New Look CVA and raised a number of arguments which some believed could be the end of CVAs as we know them. In particular, the … Continue Reading
On April 19, 2021, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted a motion (the “Seal Motion”) filed by the Intelsat S.A. debtors (the “Debtors”) to seal the hearing on the Debtors’ motion to extend exclusivity and motion to compel plan mediation. Although bankruptcy courts routinely grant motions to seal content … Continue Reading
With the UK taking positive steps towards re-opening the economy, businesses will start to see the true impact that lockdown restrictions (and the lifting of those restrictions) have on supply and demand. The UK government has continued to support UK businesses including, most recently, extending the prohibition on winding up petitions and the forfeiture moratorium, … Continue Reading
With fairly swift measure the UK House of Commons approved the ‘pre-pack regulations’ confirming that, with effect from 30 April 2021, before a pre-pack sale can complete creditor approval or an independent written report from an evaluator will be required. The detail about, the now mandatory referral process, can be found in our previous blogs. … Continue Reading
The Government has issued a consultation paper regarding statutory audits and financial reporting. The consultation makes proposals in relation to four areas, namely directors, auditors and audit firms, shareholders and the audit regulator. We have previously summarised the proposals impacting the purpose and scope of an audit. This post will focus upon the matters affecting … Continue Reading
For the past year, many Australian businesses, ranging from very significant publicly listed corporations, to much smaller family businesses, have benefited from public and private relief measures intended to soften the impact of COVID-19. Although those measures were introduced as a direct result of pandemic-related concerns, the economic reality in many sectors was already uncertain … Continue Reading
HMRC expect all UK taxpayers to pay the tax they owe, in full and on time, whenever they are able to do so. However, in circumstances where a taxpayer is unable to meet its liability, HMRC are able to exercise a discretion to allow the taxpayer to pay tax after the due date, over an … Continue Reading
