It was the poet John Lydgate who first said that you can please some of the people all of the time; you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.

There are significant differences in the procedures available to lenders north and south of the border when it comes to enforcing fixed charges or standard securities over real/heritable property. In this blog, we will compare the process in England & Wales ("E&W") of appointing a fixed charge or "LPA" receiver with the Scottish calling-up procedure

England & Wales: LPA receivers

In May 2021, the UK Government published a Consultation which set out its proposals for targeted (but significant) amendments to certain aspects of the existing UK insolvency arrangements for insurers.

The first case to consider the requirement of a monitor to terminate a moratorium if they think a company is unable to pay certain debts was heard by the High Court on 4 February 2021. The case provides further clarity on the UK standalone moratorium process and is an example of a moratorium being used in order to restrain secured creditor action.

The results of KPMG's Fraud Barometer showed a significant increase in fraud cases in 2021, confirming the general upward trend in this area. My colleagues recently prepared an update on the case of Hewlett Packard v Lynch, described as one of the most expensive and high profile fraud trials in recent history.

It has taken over 20 months, but we now have a reported decision from the High Court in England on the operation of the new moratorium provisions introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020. Sir Alastair Norris, sitting as a High Court judge, has rejected a creditor's attempt to bring a moratorium to an end following a monitors' decision not to terminate the moratorium.

During the course of the pandemic we have seen an unprecedented level of government assistance aiming to aid businesses struggling with the effects of the pandemic. This has resulted in consistently low insolvency levels. This year we will see the lifting of certain of the restrictions and the end to some of the support initiatives that have been in place. We have outlined some of the key changes and what might be in store for 2022.

In a recent decision that will be of considerable interest to insolvency practitioners, the English High Court dismissed a challenge to a liquidator's decision to assign causes of action originally vested in an insolvent company to a specialist insolvency litigation financing company.

The Court of Appeal has overturned a decision of the High Court on whether immunity from suit, generally afforded to participants in court proceedings, extends to an examinee during an examination conducted under section 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986 ("Section 236").

The UK Government has published a Consultation¹ which sets out its proposals for targeted (but significant) amendments to certain aspects of the existing UK insolvency arrangements for insurers.