The UK Commercial Court has dismissed the Claimant's application for a stay under Article 28 of the Judgments Regulation.

In our June seminars we discussed the Pre-Pack Pool and the proposed changes to SIP 16. The revision was recommended by Teresa Graham as part of her independent review into pre-packs in June 2014, and the new SIP 16 was introduced on 2 November 2015 to coincide with the launch of the Pre-Pack Pool.

Key provisions of the revised SIP 16, which remains virtually unchanged from the draft issued in January this year, include:

The joint liquidators of Peak Hotels & Resorts Limited ("Peak") brought an unsuccessful appeal that a legal charge held over funds paid into court ("Funds") was incapable of enforcement. The court dismissed the appeal on the basis that Peak did retain a proprietary interest over the funds.

The Facts

The case concerned an application made by the Liquidators of a BVI incorporated company, Peak Hotels and Resorts Limited ("Peak"). The application was intended to determine the effectiveness of a charge granted by Peak to Candey Limited, Peak's former solicitor.

Peak was the holding company of a joint venture vehicle that became the subject of lengthy international litigation proceedings following the breakdown of relations between the joint venture partners and shareholders. Candey acted for peak in the litigation.

Two big name high street retailers entered Administration in February: On 28 February, Toys R Us, whose financial struggles had been attracting media attention (not least from Ashfords' Restructuring & Insolvency Bulletin) since before Christmas, finally threw in the towel and appointed Administrators from Moorfields; while electrical goods firm Maplin also appointed PwC on the same day.

With the news of major government contractor Carillion's liquidation, we look at the practical steps public bodies should be taking if Carillion is one of their contractors or is part of their supply chains so as to ensure there is as little disruption as possible across their service areas.

Contract review

Any business owner will know the importance of consistent cash flow to the success of their business. On 1 October 2017, a new Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims will come into force. The new Protocol will make the process of claiming debts from unwilling debtors slower and more onerous for creditors as a new mandatory process before a claim can be issued is required, with longer timescales. It also aims to avoid court proceedings wherever possible, firmly encouraging parties to engage in alternative forms of dispute resolution.

English Liquidators of a fraudulent investment company were able to navigate a complex web of defunct companies and trusts to realise assets in a Jersey company.

The partners of Arck LLP (in Liquidation), registered in England ("Arck"), an investment firm, were convicted of fraud and forgery. Richard Clay, thought to be the driving force of the scandal, is now serving a 10 years 10 months prison sentence and his deputy Kathryn Clark received a two year suspended sentence.

As well as the new Insolvency Rules coming into force on 6 April, there are over 100 amendments to the Insolvency Act that will come into force as well. These amendments are provisions from the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 ("SBEEA") and the Deregulation Act 2015 ("DA"), and are designed to facilitate and run alongside the new Rules.

This article was originally published on The Gazette, and the original article can be found online here.

Substantive amendments to the existing insolvency rules come into force in April. Olivia Bridger, of Ashfords, explains the key changes.