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.
High rates of insolvencies look set to continue as the latest quarterly insolvency statistics have been published for England and Wales. Whilst the statistics show a 2% dip from the second quarter of 2023, the number of insolvencies remains 10% higher than in 2022 and shows a return to pre-pandemic levels for compulsory liquidations and administrations. It is particularly striking that the first two quarters of 2023 represent the highest quarterly insolvencies since Q2 2009.
The Government’s roadmap out of lockdown signals a return to trading for a number of businesses hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is however potential for heightened financial distress in the coming period as existing support measures are withdrawn and currently deferred liabilities become payable, bringing the challenges faced by this sector into sharp focus.
The onset of COVID-19 has precipitated and accelerated substantial change for businesses in fashion retail, adding to particular headwinds already facing the sector in the UK. While many brick-and-mortar fashion retailers were already experiencing challenging trading conditions at the start of 2020 – ranging from rent and rates overheads to increased online competition – restrictions on and changes to consumer preferences resulting from the pandemic have intensified the challenges facing many fashion retailers and businesses operating in the supply chain.
In Esfahani v. Samimi, 2018 ONCA 516 the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that a plaintiff pursuing a fraudulent conveyance or preference must recognize that the legal landscapes changes with a bankruptcy and that the effects of a bankruptcy filing cannot be ignored.
On November 9, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada granted the Alberta Energy Regulator and the Orphan Well Association’s request for leave to appeal from the decision in Grant Thornton Ltd. v. Alberta Energy Regulator, 2017 ABCA 124.
Earlier this year, the Alberta Court of Appeal, in Grant Thornton Ltd. v. Alberta Energy Regulator, 2017 ABCA 124 decided that secured creditors in a bankruptcy should be paid before environmental claims arising from abandoned oil and gas wells. There was a strong dissent and Alberta’s energy regulator is seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.