Welcome to the latest edition of Buddle Findlay’s insolvency update. It comes against the background of an economy that remains under stress. Unemployment is the highest it has been since the depths of Covid-19, and many businesses are struggling with tax payments. There is more than NZ$1.4b owed to the IRD in unpaid GST and PAYE from the 2025 tax year, and that's just a small part of the approximately NZ$8b the IRD is now chasing.

Effective January 1, 2026, the new Illinois Receivership Act will come effective to provide litigators in Illinois with expanded tools for creditors and distressed businesses to protect and manage assets during a business downturn. The Act does not apply to residential real estate with 1-6 dwelling units unless used for commercial purposes, receiverships under other laws such as the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law and governmental receiverships.

This article examines whether a delay in implementing the Resolution Plan equates to failure of the plan or can timelines for implementation be extended?

Power to extend timelines

The landmark decision by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Stevanovich v Richardson¹provides authoritative guidance on the proper interpretation of “person aggrieved” under section 273 of the BVI Insolvency Act, which deals with standing to challenge a liquidator’s decision.

As the summer months draw to a close and stakeholders prepare for the final quarter of 2025, lawyers, lenders and sponsors alike are confronting an evolving financing environment in the UAE. Several structural and regulatory developments suggest that distressed lending and restructuring activity will rise in the near term. This note highlights the growing role of non-bank capital providers, key legal updates and practical considerations for those navigating the market.

A shifting financing landscape

The High Court sanctioned Madagascar Oil Limited’s restructuring plan, exercising cross class cram down. The judgment deals with a few now familiar points: what is the relevant alternative? Can it be a different deal? As well as touching on a few novel ones in an unusual two class only plan: was there in fact an in the money class enabling cross class cram down? Almost a third of the judgment is devoted to international recognition and effectiveness of the plan in Madagascar and Mauritius, an unusually detailed analysis, but required here given the specific facts of the case.

1 | 15 Introduction The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC/Code) is a landmark legislation which was enacted in 2016 to put in place a consolidated and holistic legal framework for resolution of stressed assets in India. Since its enactment, IBC has been one of the most dynamic legislations which has undergone several revisions on account of various learnings arising out of resolution of large volume of stressed assets in its initial phases.

As general economic trends since COVID continue to cause turmoil in the construction industry, the value of surety bonds as a performance and financial backstop has become increasingly apparent. While contractors may encounter difficult conditions in the course of their operations, sureties are not only well-capitalized and capable of weathering the storm but also, depending upon the relevant bond wording, are able to step in proactively when their principals experience financial troubles affecting the performance of the work and payment of the subcontractors.

In a significant further application of the Court of Appeal’s reasoning in Adler, Thames Water and Petrofac, the High Court declined to sanction a cross-class cram down restructuring plan proposed by Waldorf Production UK Plc.

In a difficult economic climate, commercial landlords may fear that tenant insolvencies mean no one will foot the bill for dilapidations claims at lease expiry – but they are not without recourse.