Judges of Barcelona unify principles on certain points of insolvency law

International case law

European jurisprudence on universal and territorial procedures

Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of April 18, 2024 (AIR BERLIN case)

La nueva regulación concursal permite a los acreedores de una compañía insolvente convertirse en nuevos dueños con un plan de reestructuración homologado por un juez. El caso Celsa, el primero en el que unos fondos han presentado un plan hostil para hacerse con la empresa, anima a que las empresas familiares tomen medidas de manera anticipada.

With the passing of the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act (MTSA) (likely to pass into law in 2024) the way in which we take security over rights and assets in Scotland will be brought firmly into the 21st century, doing away with the need to rely on statutes from as long ago as 1862 and a smattering of case law which has fostered uncertainty in the market for almost as long.

The commercial judges of Madrid publish a guidefor the appointment of an expert on insolvency pre-pack

Public disclosure not required of appointment of expert in restructuring in the context of a pre-insolvency notice

Decision by Pontevedra Commercial Court No 3 on November 16, 2022

In the context of a pre-insolvency notice made on a confidential basis in which the debtor requests appointment of the expert in restructuring, Pontevedra Commercial Court took the view that the appointment does not have to be sent to the Public Insolvency Register to publicly disclose their identity.

No se exige publicidad del nombramiento del experto en reestructuración en el marco de una comunicación de negociaciones de carácter reservado

Auto del Juzgado de lo Mercantil núm. 3 de Pontevedra, de 16 de noviembre de 2022

Los jueces de lo mercantil de Madrid publican una guía para el nombramiento de experto en pre-pack concursal

You can find below a high-level summary of the brand new instruments the reform has introduced in the Spanish corporate restructuring and insolvency toolkit.

1. New restructuring plan

A US Chapter 11-like plan with very light court-involvement and a number of new main features in case it is court-homologated:

1. Fully debtor-in-possession.

We have emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic amidst war, political instability, strikes and double-digit inflation rates that haven’t been seen since the early 1980s. With interest rates likely to continue to rise during the first half of 2023 and pay increases falling short of inflation, consumer confidence remains low. Companies’ margins are being squeezed by rising interest rates and when combined with increased debt burdens, supply chain difficulties and labour shortages it is no surprise that the number of insolvencies across the UK is increasing.