What are the implications for the European restructuring profession of the continued uncertainty over the UK’s withdrawal from the EU? The High Court gave its judgment in the Article 50 judicial review proceedings on 3 November 2016. The Court decided the UK Government does not have the power under the Crown’s prerogative to give notice pursuant to … Continue Reading
The shipping industry was recently in the headlines when on 31 August 2016 Hanjin Shipping Co filed for bankruptcy protection in the Seoul Central District Court. Hanjin was South Korea’s biggest container carrier and the seventh largest in the world. Upon obtaining bankruptcy protection, 66 of its ships containing an estimated $14.5bn of cargo were left … Continue Reading
The Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) has reported that the amount of invoice finance secured by UK businesses has risen by over a quarter in the last five years and that the total amount of UK lending secured through invoice financing has hit a record and passed the £20 billion mark this year for the first … Continue Reading
Peabody Energy Corporation is one of the biggest energy companies in the world. Its main business is coal mining and it conducts extensive operations in the United States and in Australia. Peabody had been hit by declining coal prices both for thermal coal and also for metallurgical coal used for steel making, especially due to the declining demand from … Continue Reading
At the closing of the summer transfer window on 31 August, it was announced that the Premier League had splurged a record-breaking £1.165 billion on player transfers. To put that in context, that is roughly equivalent to the GDP of the Central African Republic but was spent by 20 English clubs in a two month period. … Continue Reading
The English Court has recently considered who can be recognised as “foreign representatives” under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 (CBIR) in the case of Re 19 Entertainment Limited, about a US company in Chapter 11. The Re 19 Entertainment judgment appears to be the first English case where directors of a company in Chapter 11 … Continue Reading
Significant changes have taken effect and are expected to continue within the education sector, the result of which may lead to an increase in restructuring activity and additional pressure on funding streams. In the Further Education (“FE”) sector, the Government has introduced “Area Reviews”, whereby FE institutions within a particular geographical area are encouraged to merge … Continue Reading
Until recently the oil and gas sector has not been on the restructuring communities radar. However, last year global oil prices hit an all-time low, which led to a record number of insolvencies in the industry. Consequently in conjunction with Lexis Nexis we have produced the Guide to insolvency in the UK oil and gas … Continue Reading
On 23 June 2016 a 52% majority of the British people voted in favour of leaving the European Union. It seems likely that the immediate effect of the Brexit vote will be a degree of turmoil in the financial markets, involving, for instance a devaluation of Sterling against the Euro and of the Euro against the USD. This … Continue Reading
Chances are those well-known eloquent lyrics have stirred up some patriotic spirit from somewhere deep within even the most sporting averse of us. With the 2016 summer of sport fast upon us the effect of the Euros, Wimbledon and the Olympics could have a significant impact on the economy (and the nerves) of the nation. … Continue Reading
The performance of the UK manufacturing sector is one of the key indicators of the health of the UK economy as a whole. To what extent is the current stagnant growth in that sector a result of the impending EU referendum? The Markit/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 49.4 in April 2016, its lowest … Continue Reading
A View from Brussels As the 23 June date for the British referendum about its future in the European Union (EU) comes closer, the EU political leadership in Brussels remains uncertain how best to support the ‘Bremain’ forces in order to avoid the embarrassing and damaging departure of one of its largest and strongest members. None … Continue Reading
Only a month ago we were singing the praises of the CVA and calling them the saviour of the high street following the creditors’ approval of the BHS CVA. (See our earlier blog Move over Mary Portas, CVA’s are the real saviour of the High Street). In the last week, administrators were appointed to both BHS and … Continue Reading
Due to the introduction of new tax legislation on 6th April 2016, distributions made to shareholders of companies undergoing Members’ Voluntary Liquidation (MVL) are now treated as income (rather than capital) and are taxed accordingly. The result is that the tax rate on MVL proceeds has shot up to a staggering 28%, as detailed in our previous article. For distributions to … Continue Reading
The BHS CVA is now in effect following a successful ‘yes’ vote on 23 March 2016 when 95% of creditors voted in favour of the proposals. The BHS CVA is the latest in a long line of CVAs that have been successfully used to reduce the burden of onerous lease arrangements across large retail portfolios following … Continue Reading
From 1 April 2016, all workers over the age of 25 will have to be paid the National Living Wage (“NLW”) of £7.20 per hour. For workers under the age of 25, the National Minimum Wage (“NMW”) will continue to apply. The NLW represents a 50p (7.5%) increase per hour compared to the current NMW for … Continue Reading
From 6 April 2016, debtors in England and Wales who wish to enter bankruptcy will need to apply online and will no longer be able to petition the Court. The final form statutory instruments to introduce the necessary changes were published on 22 February 2016. It will cost £130 for a debtor to apply for his own bankruptcy … Continue Reading
In case you have just returned from Outer Space- the UK Government has announced that it is holding a referendum on 23 June 2016 on the question: “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the EU or leave the EU?” In the meantime, whilst the UK decides whether to Brexit or not, the EU … Continue Reading
When will the Court exercise its discretion to adjourn a bankruptcy petition or make an immediate bankruptcy order? The recent Bankruptcy Court decision of Aabar Block Sarl v Maud provided clarification on the matters that the Court will take into consideration. John Alderton (Partner) and Jon Chesman (Associate) represented the Debtor, Glenn Maud, who successfully applied for … Continue Reading
On 1 April 2015, responsibility for consumer credit in the UK transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (“OFT”) to the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”). A consequence of this was to replace the OFT’s Consumer Credit Act licencing scheme with the FCA’s authorisation scheme under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”). The impact of this has … Continue Reading
The directors of the failed courier company City Link had a good reason to celebrate this weekend after the dismissal of criminal charges brought against them for failing to notify the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (“BIS”) of their intention to make City Link’s circa 2,500 employees redundant last Christmas. As explained in an earlier blog by our employment … Continue Reading
One of the changes introduced by the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (“SBEE”) which came into force on 1 October 2015 was to allow administrators and liquidators the right to assign their rights of action in respect of fraudulent trading claims, wrongful trading claims, transactions at an undervalue, preferences and extortionate credit transactions. A summary of the … Continue Reading
A referendum on whether the UK should remain a member of the EU is scheduled to take place before the end of 2017. John Alderton and Helen Kavanagh were interviewed by Alex Heshmaty for LexisPSL about the possible impact of the referendum on restructuring and insolvency lawyers and their clients in an article entitled Leave … Continue Reading
On 1 October 2015, several changes to UK insolvency legislation are coming into force. Insolvency practitioners and stakeholders should take note of the following key amendments to make sure they are up to date with these changes. The amendments are the next raft of changes to insolvency law under the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act … Continue Reading
