On 25 January 2022 the FCA published its proposals on companies that seek to manage their liabilities through the use of schemes of arrangement and restructure plans available under company law and voluntary arrangements available in insolvency law.

The FCA are seeking views on these proposals which represent a clear flexing of the FCA’s muscles in the interest of protecting customers and will clearly be of interest to company directors, their accountants and lawyers and insolvency practitioners.

On 26 January 2022, the Covid recovery and Reform Bill (the "Bill") was introduced to the Scottish Parliament. The Bill followed a consultation exercise by the Scottish Government on the proposed changes to Scottish bankruptcy (known as sequestration). These proposed changes generated a good deal of interest with almost 3,000 responses being received from individuals and representative organisations.

Welcome to the sixth edition of our quarterly disputes newsletter, which covers key developments in the dispute resolution world over the last three months or so.

The judgment in the much-publicised case of Akhmedovav Akhmedov & Ors[i] in April 2021 is a telling example of where the English Courts have exercised wide-reaching statutory powers to set aside or vary dispositions on trust with extra-territorial effect, notwithstanding the assets are held by offshore trustees, outside the Court’s j

In December 2021 the Insolvency Service launched a Consultation on the future of insolvency regulation. The Consultation proposes a number of changes that will have a significant impact on the insolvency profession, including the creation of a single regulator for insolvency professionals and bringing firms providing insolvency services within the scope of insolvency regulation for the first time. The deadline for responses is 25 March 2022, although there is no specified timeline for the implementation of any reforms.

Legislation

A number of key decisions from the English courts in 2021 illustrate the litigation trends that are likely to have implications for the financial services industry in 2022 and beyond (see below “Cases to watch in 2022”).

Market misconduct and mis-selling

In the first of a series of claims issued by ECU Group Plc in relation to alleged wrongdoing in the foreign exchange markets by a number of banks, the High Court held that:

In our December 2021 article (found here) we looked at the temporary protection afforded by the government to directors of companies whose viability was threatened by the Covid associated downturn. Many directors of Covid-hit businesses would have toyed with the idea of placing their companies into an insolvency proceeding to protect themselves from the personal liability that comes with an unsuccessful attempt to trade through (and out of) financial difficulties.

Tommy Robinson, founder of the English Defence League was in court last week being pursued by the many people he owes money to. This has increased scrutiny on whether he genuinely disposed of assets in his timely divorce from Jenna Lennon.

The restructuring plan has so far proven to be a powerful tool to facilitate restructurings of complex capital structures. Two recent cases provide further helpful guidance for advisers when formulating a restructuring plan and for investors who may be affected by its terms.

Amicus Finance plc (in administration) ("Amicus")