With the anticipated appeal in Novalpina having been heard at the end of last month, practitioners will be watching closely to see what the courts have in store for solvent liquidations. In particular, there remains considerable interest in whether the first instance findings concerning the requirement to pay all debts, together with statutory interest, within … Continue Reading
When placing a company into Members’ Voluntary Liquidation (“MVL“), the statutory declaration of solvency is not simply a box‑ticking exercise. The recent High Court judgment in Greenbank Technology Ltd (in liquidation) serves as a stark reminder that a statutory declaration is a substantive legal act, not just a formality that can be cured later. Greenback … Continue Reading
In NOAL SCSp v Novalpina Capital LLP [2025], the court took a strict view of the statutory requirement that companies entering a member’s voluntary liquidation (MVL) must be able to pay all their debts (including contingent or disputed ones) within 12 months. That mattered because, in practice, some insolvency professionals understood the legislation to mean … Continue Reading
At the beginning of 2025 we shared our predictions on what we expected to see in the R&I market over the course of the year. How did we do? … Continue Reading
The High Court has recently provided clarity on whether liquidators, or the firms supporting them, can limit their liability when acting in a Members’ Voluntary Liquidation (MVL). The case of Pagden[1] confirms that while firms supporting liquidators may be able to limit liability in certain circumstances, liquidators themselves cannot.… Continue Reading
On 8 October 2025, the Court approved a significant milestone in the long-running insolvency proceedings of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (LBIE). After 17 years in administration, the Court granted an order terminating the administrators’ appointments and paving the way for LBIE to enter a members’ voluntary liquidation (MVL).… Continue Reading
HMRC has issued new guidance explaining its expectations for the proportionate and appropriate use of Notices of Intended Dividends (NOIDs) in an MVL in light of what it says are challenges created by practitioners issuing a NOID at the start of an MVL where doing so might be inappropriate. … Continue Reading
Judge Agnello in a recent court decision[1] concluded that a company must pay its debts within the period of 12 months from the start of an MVL, and if it does not, the liquidator is obliged to convert the MVL to a company voluntary liquidation (CVL).… Continue Reading
In recent months, there have been a few changes regarding MVLs which we have set out in this insight as a helpful reminder to practitioners. Our insight considers the changes to filing statements of solvency, comments on the practice of remote swearing those statements and highlights the change in policy regarding clearance letters from HMRC.… Continue Reading
Businesses should be aware that new anti-avoidance tax rules will take effect from 6 April 2016 which will have a negative impact on members’ voluntary liquidations (“MVLs”). The new rules are part of a crackdown by Revenue and Customs to avoid ‘income-into- capital’ tax planning. This is probably in part due to the higher dividend … Continue Reading
