An analysis of recent statistics show what the Insolvency and Tax Disputes teams at Mishcon de Reya have long experienced – that HMRC is not in the habit of overlooking an outstanding debt.

According to the latest data produced by UHY Hacker Young, Pub Insolvencies have risen by 66% in the last year. The impact of such a staggering statistic is that these debts which are owed to our clients become even more unobtainable to collect.

The pot of available funds drops dramatically once the pub business is placed in the official insolvency process. 

The case will be passed to an Official Receiver and on the most part an Insolvency Practitioner is then appointed. 

Mislabelling a debt instrument as a promissory note can result in unintended consequences

Promissory notes and loan notes are often used in group reorganisations to paper a loan relationship, but because the terms are frequently used interchangeably, there is scope for misuse and misunderstanding.

Key developments of interest over the last month include: IOSCO publishing its final Policy Recommendations for Crypto and Digital Asset (CDA) Markets; the UK government publishing a response to its previous consultation and call for evidence on proposals for the future financial services regulatory regime for digital assets as well as the FCA and Bank of England publishing proposals on the UK stablecoins regulatory regime; the European Parliament's ECON Committee publishing draft reports on the proposed PSD3 and Payment Services Regulation; and the UK government publishing a Future of Paym

The Supreme Court recently considered whether administrators of a company can be prosecuted for a failure to provide notice to the Secretary of State, using form HR1, of proposed collective redundancies.

They found that for the purposes of interpreting the relevant section of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ("TULRCA"), administrators were not an "officer" and so were not subject to the obligation to file an HR1. This decision, however, has the potential to impact much wider than the world of redundancies.  

On Thursday 9 November, Macfarlanes hosted a webinar which focused on the role of directors and in particular navigating those stresses and strains placed upon them in the uncertainties of the current markets.

The webinar was given by an expert panel comprising of finance partner and head of Macfarlanes’ restructuring and insolvency group, Jat Bains, finance partner and qualified insolvency practitioner, Paul Keddie, and litigation partner, Lois Horne.

The panel discussed the following three principal themes.

Recent news reports have highlighted that the number of corporate insolvencies has continued to rise during 2022 and 2023, with the retail sector being particularly affected. Many companies are struggling to meet the demands of repaying government support provided during lockdown, increased running costs and high wages coupled with lower demand due to the cost of living crisis.

When an employer is insolvent and administrators appointed, job losses are often an inevitable consequence. In this blog we look at the legal obligations arising where redundancies meet the threshold for collective consultation, and the implications for administrators arising out of the recent Supreme Court in the case of R (on the application of Palmer) v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates Court and another.

When does the legal obligation to collectively consult apply?

Abigal Boura v Lyhfl decision

1. The High Court considered whether one director has standing to apply to court for the appointment of an administrator in circumstances where there is no majority of the board and no valid resolution of the board in favour of the application. Abigal Boura v Lyhfl Limited [2023] EWHC 2585 (Ch)(19 October 2023).

Analysis

Over the decade since the implementation of the costs reforms proposed in Lord Jackson's Review of Civil Litigation Costs, lawyers and litigants have become accustomed to the courts actively managing the costs of disputes with a value up to £10 million. But the court also retains a discretion to apply the costs management regime in cases even above this level.