SJK Wholesale Limited (In Liquidation) v Companies Act 2014 [2020] IEHC 196
Introduction
In a recent decision, the Irish High Court refused to grant a liquidator access to a Google email account.
The court ruled that Irish insolvency law did not permit a court to order Google Ireland to grant the liquidator access to the email account in circumstances where the email account was created in the name of an individual rather than the company itself.
The COVID-19 global crisis has brought cross border insolvencies into focus as companies consider the challenges that may arise where assets are situated across a number of jurisdictions and where an insolvency event may occur. Drawing on our experience of cross border restructurings, and the issues that should be considered, we look at the key issues to consider when assessing if you should implement a restructuring where an Irish company is involved and which restructuring tool to avail of.
Assistance available to UK businesses
As the Covid-19 crisis continue to unfold, the UK Government have announced a series of financial assistance packages aimed at easing the financial impact on UK businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following is a breakdown of the packages introduced by the Government and guidance on how to seek assistance with your business finances. These schemes are subject to change on little or no notice and details are correct as at 28th April 2020.
Loans and Financing
Two recent cases demonstrate the efficacy of existing restructuring regimes under Irish company law and more particularly that the Courts in Ireland are receptive and efficient in approving and implementing large multi-jurisdictional restructuring schemes.
Ballantyne – Scheme of Arrangement
The High Court appointed an examiner to three connected companies involved in the food distribution industry on 27 March 2020 in what was effectively the first examinership of the Covid-19 pandemic period. Fieldfisher acted on behalf of Wert Capital Ltd which was the parent company for a number of food distribution entities in a successful application for court protection for the Group from their creditors.
As the novel coronavirus COVID-19 continues to disrupt economic activity in Ireland businesses are reviewing their corporate structures and funding arrangements to deal with the crisis. In this article, we outline the types of corporate restructuring options that are available under Irish law each of which will be discussed by us in greater detail in a series of subsequent articles.
Landlord and tenant relationships are likely to come under strain as tenants experience financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For tenant companies such financial difficulties may result in a tenant being placed in examinership, or ultimately in the appointment of a liquidator or receiver. An insolvency event generally constitutes an event of default in a commercial lease.
On 16 April 2020 the Insolvency Committee of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies – Ireland issued guidance for insolvency practitioners in relation to the holding of meetings of creditors under Section 587 and other meetings of members and creditors during the COVID-19 pandemic by way of
This week marks another critical juncture in the ongoing fight against the economic challenges presented by the COVID-19 crisis. With the jobs retention scheme portal now open for applications since Monday 20 April 2020, many businesses and employers are hoping to receive funds from HMRC promptly in order to fulfil payroll obligations by month end and ease any immediate cash flow concerns.
In our earlier article, we discussed the importance of timing in corporate recovery efforts and the difficulties facing companies with the examinership process and its legislative requirements.