COVID-19 is placing unprecedented strain on all businesses, and insolvency practitioner (“IP”) practices are no exception. Government-imposed restrictions on activities and movement will have a direct impact on the ability to carry on business as usual. There may be fewer employees available (through illness, self-isolation and furloughing), strain placed on remote working capabilities and a limited ability to carry out site visits to deal with cases as usual. Closure of schools and caring responsibilities may also lead to reduced personnel capacity.
COVID-19 and Government-imposed restrictions are placing an unprecedented strain on everyone and businesses and individuals may be facing extreme financial pressure. COVID-19 is impacting businesses throughout the supply chain in most, if not all, sectors. This may mean that clients and debtors are unable to meet their obligations and there may need to be changes as to how these are dealt with. This note aims to provide some guidance to help Insolvency Practitioners (“IPs”) deal with certain practical issues that may arise in active cases.
Over the weekend, the Business Secretary announced that UK Insolvency Laws will be changed.
The changes will give businesses “extra time to weather the storm” and give comfort to directors who, challenged with trading through a difficult cash flow period, will not face claims for wrongful trading.
Relaxation of wrongful trading provisions
The proposed measures alleviate concerns that borrowing additional funds offered by the Government could place a director at risk of personal liability.
The Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) is currently finalizing the law to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in civil, insolvency, and criminal proceedings with extraordinary commitment. It shall be adopted less than two weeks after the beginning of the extensive restrictions on public life and the economy in Germany due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A central element of the law is to facilitate the raising of debt capital in order to support companies in the current situation. For this purpose:
Mit außerordentlichem Engagement treibt das Bundesministerium für Justiz und Verbraucherschutz (BMJV) aktuell das Gesetz zur Abmilderung der Folgen der COVID-19-Pandemie im Zivil-, Insolvenz- und Strafverfahrensrecht voran. Weniger als zwei Wochen nach Beginn der weitreichenden Einschränkungen des öffentlichen Lebens und auch der Wirtschaft in Deutschland aufgrund der COVID-19-Pandemie soll es nun verabschiedet werden.
The Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) now implements, with great commitment and unprecedented speed, what it has generally announced on 16 March 2020 (see also The four pillar protective governmental shield for Germany):
The Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) now implements, with great commitment and unprecedented speed, what it has generally announced on 16 March 2020:
Das Bundesministerium für Justiz und Verbraucherschutz (BMJV) lässt nun mit enormem Einsatz und mit wohl einmaliger Geschwindigkeit seiner vom 16. März 2020 Akündigung Taten folgen (siehe auch: Vier Säulen Schutzschild für Deutschland):
Noch in dieser Woche sollen
In this article, we focus on working capital and consider ways a business can seek to weather the storm and preserve all-important liquidity through this challenging period.
Practical Tips
Given the unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19 globally, what can senior management do in order to manage and mitigate the risk to the company's financial health?
As we close the week which has seen the Government and the Bank of England publish details of their financial support package for business, the business community awaits the formal launch of both the Coronovirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) next week.
CBIL scheme