UK Supreme Court decision reaffirms that debtors cannot use corporate structures and the principle of separate corporate legal personality to avoid obligations to their creditors. Transactions at an undervalue made by a...more
The evolution of the English RP continues to push the jurisdictional envelope. The English court’s sanction of the Sino-Ocean restructuring plan (RP) marks an interesting development in the evolution of the English RP....more
The British Virgin Islands has, as of 18 September 2024, extended the list of ‘Relevant Foreign Countries’ for the purposes of Part XIX of the BVI Insolvency Act, which governs Orders in Aid of Foreign Proceedings. These...more
Actions brought against the BHS directors by the group’s liquidators have resulted in the largest reported award for wrongful trading since the provision’s introduction, but the judgment highlights some unsettled areas of the...more
Despite three recent landmark UK restructuring plan decisions, uncertainty remains around the value, if any, a plan company should offer dissenting creditors as the “deliverability price” of a plan....more
The characterisation of fixed and floating charges remains a complex area, not least with respect to new intangible asset types. The key distinction between a fixed and a floating charge is well established as a matter of...more
The Legal Statement applies areas of insolvency law to digital assets, providing valuable guidance on the approach English courts will take. In October 2023, the UK’s Jurisdiction Taskforce (UKJT), which is made up of...more
The recent decision of the BVI Commercial Court (the "Court") (the Hon. Justice Ingrid Mangatal (Ag.)) in Kenworth Industrial Limited v Xin Gang Power Investments Limited BVIHCOM 2023/0006 has provided clarity on the...more
Since its inception under CIGA 2020, there has been no shortage of legal commentary on the effectiveness of the legislation governing Part 26A Restructuring Plans, and the ways in which the judiciary have interpreted and...more
With commercial property companies’ debt burdens reaching pre-2008 levels and warnings being issued this month by the European Central Bank, in this article we outline some of the key issues to be considered and steps which...more
The U.K. Jurisdiction Taskforce has published a consultation relating to its proposed Legal Statement offering guidance on the application of English insolvency law principles to digital assets. The proposed Legal Statement...more
In this client alert, we set out the key findings by the Court of Appeal in Darty Holdings SAS v Geoffrey Carton-Kelly [2023] EWCA Civ 1135, which considers an appeal against the High Court decision that a repayment by Comet...more
As discussed in our November 2022 and July 2023 newsletters, the UK government is implementing a comprehensive set of proposals for regulation of financial services in the UK, including for insurers. This follows the UK’s...more
What is a scheme? A compromise or arrangement between a company and any class or classes of its creditors (and/or shareholders). The process broadly mirrors an English scheme of arrangement thereby providing legal...more
A novel debt restructuring plan will allow the carrier to recover following pandemic turbulence. In December 2022, Hong Kong Airlines’ Hong Kong scheme and English restructuring plan were sanctioned by the respective...more
Section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 allows for the reversal of certain transactions at an undervalue that are intended to prejudice the interests of creditors. The scope of Section 423 is extensive and may be used to...more
It is now two years since the 30 April 2021 introduction of the Administration (Restrictions on Disposal etc. to Connected Persons) Regulations 2021 (the "Regulations") and a good time to look back at whether the Regulations...more
In the recent decision of Greig William Alexander Mitchell & Ors v Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber & Ors [2023] EWHC 364 (Ch), the English High Court was required to consider the question of what duties (if any) a director...more
Under section 213 Insolvency Act 1986, liquidators may bring claims against third parties suspected of being a party to fraud, even where they were not involved in the management or control of the insolvent company. The...more
News of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States has dominated headlines over the last few days. Late yesterday, Friday, 10 March 2023, the Bank of England made an announcement about the status of Silicon...more
In July 2022, the UK government proposed two key changes to the existing insolvency arrangements in respect of insurance companies as part of a wider set of reforms to the existing Financial Services and Markets Act 2000...more
In Tradition Financial Service Ltd v Bilta (UK) Ltd & Others, the Court of Appeal considered the scope of section 213 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (the ‘Act’) and, specifically, whether those beyond the small group of...more
With the threat of recession impacting businesses across all areas of economic activity in 2023, anyone involved in structures involving Guernsey companies should be aware of significant reforms to the Island’s insolvency...more
The Part 26A restructuring plan has introduced significant cross-class cramdown powers that may impact the defined benefit pension arrangements in the UK. As the UK looks set to enter a new restructuring cycle, the...more
Cryptoassets have emerged from relative obscurity to become an increasingly significant and mainstream presence: in just five years the global market cap for cryptocurrencies rose from around $15 billion to over $3 trillion...more