The High Court has declined to follow an earlier decision and ruled that a trustee in bankruptcy could not gain access to pensions benefits that were not already in payment.

At the end of October the Pension Protection Fund announced that it had come to an agreement with Monarch Airlines and the Pensions Regulator to accept the Monarch Airlines Limited Retirement Benefit Scheme into a PPF assessment period. The agreement, reached after discussions between the parties and the Trustees of the Scheme will enable the airline to restructure its business and accept £125m in new capital and liquidity facilities from Greybull Capital LLP in return for a 90 per cent shareholding.

On 30 October 2014, the English High Court sanctioned the second scheme of arrangement for the APCOA group (the “Scheme”). APCOA has been one of the hottest names in the restructuring market in 2014. First, it broke new ground in relation to an “amend and extend” scheme in early 2014 when it established sufficient connection to England off the back of a change in governing law. Second, the Scheme was aggressively opposed and its sanction by the High Court was appealed to the Court of Appeal (although ultimately the appeal was withdrawn).

UK LEGAL HIGHLIGHTS 2014 AND BEYOND Welcome to our 2014 edition of UK Legal Highlights. This publication is a reminder of some of the most important and significant developments DLA Piper reported in 2014, along with some forthcoming developments to look out for in 2015 and beyond.

The vast majority of UK taxpayers pay what they owe in full and on time. Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs (HMRC) thinks that a persistent minority choose not to pay which provides an undeserved advantage to those who are wilfully seeking to play the system, and creates costs which are ultimately borne by the compliant majority.

Paragraph 71 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act allows an administrator to apply to court to sell assets subject to a fixed charge as if they were not subject to the security. The case of O’Connell v Rollings and others [2014] EWCA Civ 639 is a rare illustration of such an application and provides useful guidance on the factors the court will take into account.

The background

We have become used to a regular stream of decisions in which the courts are prepared to grant administration or winding up orders in respect of overseas companies which have COMI or an establishment in the UK. The decision inRe Buccament Bay Limited and another [2014] EWCH 3130 is a rare exception in which the court has refused to exercise its discretion.

The background

In June 2014, the new insolvency complaints gateway celebrated its first birthday. This was followed by a report assessing its performance against a number of rather challenging ambitions. We analyse the report’s findings and the effect of the gateway to date on consumers, insolvency practitioners and their insurers.

Background

Introduction to CVAs

A company voluntary arrangement (“CVA”) is a tool available to a company in financial difficulty to restructure its debts. In contrast to other insolvency procedures, the directors remain in control of the business which continues to operate broadly as normal, subject to the supervision of an insolvency practitioner (“the Supervisor”).

Singularis Holdings Limited v PricewaterhouseCoopers [2014] UKPC 36

PricewaterhouseCoopers v Saad Investments Company Limited [2014] UKPC 35

The Privy Council gives credence to the concept of “modified universalism” (being the court’s common law power to assist foreign winding up proceedings) and notes some of the circumstances which would permit a “stranger” to a winding up order the opportunity to challenge that order.

The facts: