Executive Summary
The number of company insolvencies in 2023 increased by over a third compared to 2022. The hospitality sector was particularly badly affected, with 53% more insolvencies than in 2022.
It appears that 2024 will be similarly challenging for companies in the hospitality sector. The Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) has set out the main challenges faced by the industry, including increased energy and labour costs, and the VAT rate reverting to 13.5% after having been reduced to 9% during the covid-19 pandemic.
Over the past several years, unitranche facilities have become increasingly prevalent. This growth has been driven by the ever-growing class of private credit and direct lenders who initially developed the unitranche facility structure, along with traditional bank lenders now joining this market. The unitranche structure has several advantages, including typically quicker execution for the parties involved and in some cases a lower cost of capital to the borrower.
There are certain circumstances where liquidators can be held personally liable for costs orders made in proceedings taken by them.
Under the so called “Ballyrider Principles[1]”:
Bed Bath & Beyond, the home goods retailer, has filed bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and plans to conduct liquidation sales and close all of its brick-and-mortar stores by June 30, as reported by The New York Times. The retailer points to an inability to adjust to the growth of online shopping as a reason for its downfall.
On February 13, 2023, Ultra Petroleum Corporation (“Ultra”) filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the US Supreme Court seeking review of the Fifth Circuit’s October 2022 ruling that, in solvent-debtor cases, debtors must pay unsecured creditors applicable contractual make-whole premiums and postpetition interest at contractual default rates in order for such unsecured creditors to be considered unimpaired.
What’s an ABC? If you ask ChatGPT, “ABC” is an acronym that can have multiple meanings, depending on the context—for example, referring to the alphabet. But here we are talking about a type of business liquidation process in the United States known as an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (“ABC”). An ABC is governed by state law and has long been viewed as an alternative to a liquidation under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Code.
In a decision likely to have significant impact on certain types of bankruptcy filings going forward, this morning, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the dismissal of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed by Johnson & Johnson affiliate LTL Management LLC.
Corporate Enforcement Authority Issues Helpful Guidance Note
The Preventative Restructuring Directive
In July 2022, the European Union (Preventive Restructuring) Regulations 2022 (the Regulations) transposed the requirements of EU Directive 2019/1023 (the Preventative Restructuring Directive) into Irish law.
Certain of the consequential amendments to the Companies Act 2014 (the Act) relate to the duties and responsibilities that directors of companies have in circumstances of financial difficulty and/or insolvency.
On October 19th, the Wall Street Journal reported that the electric vehicle startup Mullen Automotive Inc., gained court approval to buy an Indiana manufacturing plant and assets from Electric Last Mile Solutions for $92 million. Such deal, which boosted Mullen’s share prices by 64%, includes Electric Last Mile Solutions’ manufacturing plant in Mishawaka, Indiana and its inventory and intellectual property.