The Court of Session has found that the EU Regulations to found jurisdiction for Insolvency proceedings based on COMI do not apply in a purely UK matter.

Bank Leumi (UK) plc (The bank) lodged a petition to make an Administration Order in respect of Screw Conveyor Limited (the company). While the company's registered office was in Birmingham, the bank stated in its petition that the company's centre of main interest (COMI) was in Scotland.

The Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) has released its Annual Report and Accounts for the year 2016-17. The report contains a wealth of data, including a collation of the AiB's quarterly insolvency statistics.

Corporate insolvency

The court has no jurisdiction to direct a bankrupt to waive privilege in any document, the High Court has ruled (Leeds v Lemos [2017] EWHC 1825 (Ch)).

The High Court also confirmed that legal professional privilege is not the property of a bankrupt for the purposes of the Insolvency Act 1986 and does not automatically pass to their trustee. The Court of Appeal's recent judgment in Avonwick v Shlosberg [2017] EWCA Civ 1138 was considered and applied.

Bankruptcy and insolvency cases will be dealt with by the Business and Property Courts from 2 October 2017.

Insolvency Practitioners will welcome the change, which will enable insolvency litigation to be dealt with in a more efficient and cost effective manner in the regional centres.

Launch date