When feeling a little lost, stressed or fearful about life its fairly natural to gravitate towards things that give us a sense of ease (dopamine), control, distraction and worth. I used to find these escapes in in alcohol, and then food, and from time to time I still do in shopping to the detriment of my mental health.

But all things in moderation as they say, and I would argue there is actually meaning in some material things that give us a sense of remembrance or comfort. Hard work should be rewarded and this is often a nice way to do so.

A “pre-pack” is a sale of all or part of a distressed company’s business or assets, negotiated before the company enters a formal insolvency process and executed by the appointed insolvency practitioner immediately after the insolvency process begins.

King v Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund [2023] EWHC 1408 (Ch) deals with a number of bases on which Susan King, James King and Anthony King each applied to set aside statutory demands for £219,700.00 made by the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund. That sum was payable under an interim costs order made against the Kings by Cockerill J following a successful strike out of conspiracy proceedings. Those in turn arose out of a misrepresentation case.

Snapshot

The Restructuring Plan (Plan) was introduced as part of the UK Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020, which introduced a new part 26A into the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006). The part 26A Plan provisions are largely based on the existing scheme of arrangement rules detailed under part 26 of the CA 2006, and it is often referred to as the “super scheme”.

Plans now sit alongside schemes of arrangement and company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) to provide a further restructuring option for companies and insolvency practitioners alike.

The Court of Appeal has set aside a freezing order obtained by a provisional liquidator within winding up proceedings, on the basis that the cross-undertaking in damages given by him was inadequate because it was limited to the amount recovered for the estate. The liquidator had not discharged the burden of showing good reason to depart from the “default position” that a cross-undertaking should be unlimited in amount: Hunt v Ubhi [2023] EWCA Civ 417.

The latest insolvency figures for May show insolvencies continuing to increase, with construction and retail being among the hardest-hit sectors. Company voluntary liquidations continue to top the table, accounting for 85% of the total 2,552 insolvencies for the last month. Compulsory liquidations are also on the rise, particularly driven by HMRC. Small and micro businesses (with annual sales of less than £1m) account for around 99% of all liquidations, according to PWC.

The question for the court in Durkan & Anor v Jones (Re Nicholas Mark Jones) [2023] EWHC 1359 (Ch) was whether it had jurisdiction to make a bankruptcy order.

In this quick guide we focus on working capital and consider ways a business can seek to preserve all important liquidity through challenging and unpredictable periods. Supply chain issues, the battle against inflationary price hikes and other external stressors mean businesses globally are being challenged. What can senior management do in order to manage and mitigate risk to a company's financial health and stay away from the edge?

Practical Tips

In brief

In Avanti Communications Ltd [2023] EWHC 940 (Ch), the English court revisited the vexed issue of fixed and floating charges. Notably, it is the first significant case since the landmark decision in Re Spectrum Plus Ltd [2005] UKHL 41 to do so.

The distinction between fixed and floating charges is economically important and affects the recoveries a secured creditor may expect to receive in an insolvent liquidation of the security provider.

In the recent case of Re Avanti Communications Limited (in administration) (Re Avanti), the court considered the nature of fixed and floating charges. Whether a charge is fixed or floating has implications for both lenders and administrators in terms of determining to what extent a chargor can recover from the charged assets and to what extent a borrower can deal with its assets.

Background of case: