The court sanctioned one of two potential schemes of arrangement for Amigo Loans Ltd (Amigo) and approved a plan that provided for two possible outcomes.
Background
Amigo provided guarantor loans to customers with poor credit scores. Amigo owed customers and the Financial Ombudsman Service £375 million for customer complaints and was insolvent.
The UK government has lifted the current restrictions on statutory demands but imposed new temporary requirements for winding-up petitions presented from 1 October 2021 until 31 March 2022. The measures aim to protect companies from aggressive creditor enforcement as the economy opens up and other protections are lifted.
New requirements
Although the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, the impact of Brexit on cross-border insolvencies was largely postponed until the end of the transition period at 11pm on 31 December 2020.
The UK is now designated as a "third country" from the perspective of the EU, directly applicable EU laws and regulations no longer apply, and the Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement does not deal with cross-border insolvencies. As such, insolvency practitioners may now be left feeling that they are effectively in a "no-deal" scenario.
Background
High Street Rooftop Holdings Limited (the Company) was part of a group of companies known as the High Street Group, which carried on real estate activities such as the development of residential apartments and construction, and the ownership of hotels, bars and restaurants.
On 13 June 2018, the Company entered into a secured term loan facility agreement with Strategic Advantage SPC as lender (the Lender) (the Facility Agreement). Under the Facility Agreement, the Applicant made funding of approximately £100 million available to the Company in tranches.
What is CBILS?
CBILS is a government backed loan scheme to provide financial support to small and medium businesses (SMEs) across the UK that are experiencing financial difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The scheme opened on 23 March 2020 and will run for an initial period of 6 months.
The scheme is delivered by accredited commercial lenders, backed by the government-owned British Business Bank (the BBB).
Key Points
A binding contract by exchange of email did not arise where parties were simply exploring a potential deal.
Sale by auction is often appropriate where an asset is difficult to value.
Where no differential treatment of creditors, unfair harm requires that a decision does not withstand logical analysis.
The Facts
In Rushbrooke UK Ltd (the Company) v Designs Concept Ltd (Designs) [2022] EWHC 1110 (Ch), the Court struck out injunction proceedings to restrain the presentation of a winding up petition as the instructing director did not have Company authority.
Background
An intention to transfer is not sufficient to claim lost property
In Arlington v Woolrych, the failure by a junior creditor to gain the prior written consent of senior creditors pursuant to a Deed of Priority rendered the appointment of administrators invalid.
Facts
Alongside the permanent reforms to English insolvency law introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020, the government introduced a temporary suspension of certain provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986 (the IA) to address the economic turbulence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.