The case of Valeriy Ernestovich Drelle v Service-Terminal LLC[1] has, over recent years, caused lots of debate over whether unrecognised, unregistrable foreign judgments could form the basis of a bankruptcy petition pursuant to sections 267 and 268 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (“Act”). On 27 July 2026, the Supreme Court finally put that debate to … Continue Reading
S216(3) of the Insolvency Act 1986 restricts former directors of insolvent companies from being involved with companies or businesses using a prohibited name for five years following an insolvent liquidation. S216(3) provides that, unless leave is granted by the court or one of the statutory exceptions applies, a person who was a director of a … Continue Reading
On remand from the Fifth Circuit, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (the “Court”) held in the Serta Simmons Bedding (“Serta”) liability management exercise (“LME”)[1] dispute that a credit agreement’s pro-rata sharing provision applied to noncash payments, in this case, a debt-for-debt exchange, and not solely to cash payments. The Serta Court … Continue Reading
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
The Insolvency Service has launched its Second Review of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 and the Insolvency (Scotland) (Company Voluntary Arrangements and Administration) Rules 2018. While this is formally a statutory post-implementation review, it is much more than a box-ticking exercise. The consultation provides an opportunity to influence how insolvency processes operate in … Continue Reading
Judge Craig Goldblatt’s recent decision in the Delaware bankruptcy court carves out a safe haven for creditors amid the Third Circuit’s expanding view of what claims belong to a debtor’s estate. Relying on the Third Circuit’s decision in Whittaker, Clark & Daniels[1], Judge Goldblatt held that certain claims against directors and officers, which are traditionally … Continue Reading
B.E. Capital Management Fund LP v. Fund.com Inc., C.A. No. 12843‑JTL (Del. Ch. Apr. 10, 2026) INTRODUCTION Can a successor receiver let a past receiver, removed for being a “faithless fiduciary,” bid to buy company assets at auction? In B.E. Capital Management Fund LP v. Fund.com Inc., the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court”) highlighted … Continue Reading
The Court of Appeal’s recent judgment in TAQA Bratani Limited (“TAQA”) & Others v Fujairah Oil & Gas UK LLC & Others [2025] EWCA Civ 1669 provides clarity on how the Court will approach the question of whether a transaction, is a transaction at an undervalue caught under s.238 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (“Act”). … Continue Reading
When Waldorf Production UK Plc returned to court with its second restructuring plan in a year, the primary opposition it faced was from HMRC who voted against the plan. Mr Justice Green ultimately sanctioned the plan, cramming down the liabilities owed to HMRC but the judgment provides some helpful insight into the position taken by … Continue Reading
Have the doors to U.S. Bankruptcy courts finally swung open to cannabis companies? Perhaps, but still in only very limited circumstances involving a foreign debtor. Nonetheless, Judge Brendan Shannon’s recent order granting recognition of a Canadian insolvency proceeding [1] filed by a cannabis company is the first crack in the door that many bankruptcy professionals … Continue Reading
The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced sweeping changes to address this country’s building safety failures exposed by Grenfell. One of its most significant and arguably most revolutionary remedies introduced by the Act is the Building Liability Order, or BLO, designed to prevent relevant building safety liabilities being left behind in undercapitalised project companies while associated … Continue Reading
The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has issued a significant ruling in the cross‑border insolvency practice that reaffirms U.S. recognition of foreign restructuring plans containing third-party releases. Crédito Real S.A.B. DE C.V., SOFOM, E.N.R. (“Crédito Real”) was one of Mexico’s largest non-banking financial lending institutions. In 2021, Crédito Real experienced a liquidity … Continue Reading
The Council of the European Union has just given the green light to a new EU Law that aims to bring consistency to key aspects of insolvency rules across Member States. For years, businesses and investors have had to navigate a patchwork of national regimes—each with its own procedures, timelines, and quirks. The new Directive … Continue Reading
The powers of provisional liquidators are generally as set out in the order appointing them. In longer running provisional liquidations, this can lead to multiple trips to court by the provisional liquidators to extend or confirm powers. In Re Versilia Solutions Limited[1] the High Court considered the scope of provisional liquidators’ powers in circumstances where, … 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
Despite meeting statutory jurisdictional requirements under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006, the High Court declined to exercise its discretion in favour of sanctioning Waldorf Production UK Plc’s restructuring plan in August 2025due to concerns about fair allocation of value and lack of meaningful engagement with unsecured creditors. Waldorf then sought and was granted … Continue Reading
On December 1, 2025, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Honorable Denise Cote) entered an opinion and order that struck third-party releases and a related injunction in a confirmed Chapter 11 Plan (the “Plan”) for the In re Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A., et al. bankruptcy cases (Case No. … Continue Reading
In Re Petrofac Ltd [2025] EWHC 2887 (Ch), the English High Court made an administration order in relation to a Jersey-incorporated company even though its registered office was not in England which is the starting point for determining COMI and therefore the Court’s jurisdiction to make such an order. Background Petrofac Limited (the Company) is the … Continue Reading
The ability to cram down dissenting creditors in a Restructuring Plan (RP) is a helpful tool to ensure that a proposed restructuring is not derailed. But ultimately the power rests with the court in deciding whether to cram down an RP on dissenting creditors.… Continue Reading
The High Court has refused to use its discretion to sanction a restructuring plan proposed by Waldorf Production UK Plc (Waldorf or the Company) which entailed a cramdown of the company’s unsecured creditors pursuant to Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006. Background Waldorf (and its wider group) are engaged in the exploration and production … 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
On July 18, 2025, President Trump signed into law the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, otherwise known as the GENIUS Act. The purpose of the GENIUS Act is to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoins in the United States. However, the GENIUS Act also makes several important changes to the … Continue Reading
What does it mean to be “bankrupt?” The Fourth Circuit recently held oral arguments to determine this question in Bestwall, LLC v. The Official Committee of Asbestos Claimants.[1] There, the Asbestos Claimants asserted that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina (the “Bankruptcy Court”) lacks jurisdiction over Bestwall, because Bestwall … Continue Reading
