Foreign insolvency proceedings (including those ordered by the UK courts) have no direct operation in Guernsey. Therefore foreign insolvency office holders looking to take steps in Guernsey, such a collecting in assets or compelling the production of information from third parties, will need to first be recognised under Guernsey law before steps can be taken in this jurisdiction.

Guernsey has not introduced legislation based on the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency. It is also not (and was not prior to Brexit) subject to the Recast Insolvency Regulations.

• Commercial rent arrears continue to accumulate as a result of the pandemic, such that arrears are estimated to reach £9 billion by March 2022 and comprise a much larger slice of the typical debt stack than they did pre-pandemic.
• The UK government has proposed a binding arbitration scheme to help resolve the arrears and further extend the existing protections from enforcement and insolvency procedures that

• Brexit ripped up the rules on automatic cross-border recognition of formal insolvency proceedings and restructuring tools between the UK and the EU.
• Recognition will now depend on a patchwork of domestic legislation, private international law and treaties and may lead to different outcomes depending on the jurisdiction.
• Cross-border recognition is still achievable but involves careful navigation and a more tailored approach in individual cases to selection of the most effective process and its route to recognition.

Legal landscape

The consequent distress in the market is evident with 9 supplier insolvencies in the last few weeks alone, including Avro Energy, Utility Point and People’s Energy.

Today, 1 October 2021, is important as Ofgem is due to increase tariff caps from that date. This is also the date when the restrictions on petitioning for the winding up of companies on the basis of insolvency will be eased.

Legal landscape – energy regulations

In distressed situations, there are a number of issues to navigate, including:

There have been two recent changes to the insolvency laws in England and Wales relating to winding up petitions1 and Part 1A moratoriums.

Winding up petitions – Relaxation of restrictions

Following the landmark decision by Justice Trower in Re DeepOcean 1 UK Ltd,¹ Justice Snowden delivered another important judgment on the use of cross-class cram downs as he sanctioned the Virgin Active² restructuring plans.

On 16 March 2021, the German Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, or BaFin) declared Greensill Bank AG (Greensill) to be an indemnification case, meaning that German deposit insurance institutions can compensate the bank’s creditors.

BaFin had previously filed an insolvency petition against Greensill, and the insolvency court in Bremen opened insolvency proceedings on 16 March 2021. It appointed an insolvency administrator who is now responsible for managing Greensill’s affairs.

Hot on the heels of the landmark changes to the insolvency landscape brought by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) (see our previous article on CIGA), the Government recently announced reforms relating to pre-packaged administration sales to connected parties.

The UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy introduced the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the Bill)¹ into Parliament on 20 May 2020. The Bill is due to proceed through Parliament on an accelerated timetable and is expected to come into force without changes towards the end of June 2020.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill yesterday (20 May 2020). The Bill, when enacted, represents the most significant amendment to the UK’s insolvency laws since the Enterprise Act 2002 introduced the administration regime.