During the pandemic, the UK Government has put legislative measures in place to protect commercial tenants by preventing landlords from using certain remedies such as forfeiture and winding up petitions. However, the legislation does not specifically prevent a landlord from issuing debt claims against its tenants for arrears of rent and other amounts due under a lease (see the recent case of Commerz Real Investmentgesellschaft mbh v TFS Stores Limited [2021] EWHC 863 (Ch)).

From 1 December 2020 new changes to the priority rules in insolvency will have a real impact on the recoveries achieved by secured creditors on the insolvency of a debtor. These new rules give HMRC priority above floating charge holders and ordinary unsecured creditors in relation to tax collected by an insolvent company from third parties, such as VAT, PAYE income tax and NICs.

The first reading of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the "Insolvency Bill") took place on 20 May 2020.  The Insolvency Bill will be debated by the House of Commons on 3 June 2020 and is proposed to be introduced as fast-track legislation. 

There have been increasing concerns in recent weeks that UK insolvency law does not accommodate the short-term impact of COVID-19 on many businesses.  In response, the Business Secretary announced on 28 March that the UK's insolvency rules would be amended as part of the Government's wider business support package.  Whilst the measures that the Government intends to implement have not yet been fully detailed, this note summarises what has been announced so far and what we might expect, based on the Business Secretary's comments.

Beauty Brands, LLC, along with two subsidiaries and affiliates, has filed a petition for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 19-10031).

Angel Medical Systems, Inc., a developer of medical devices based in Eatontown, NJ, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 18-12903).

Alcor Energy, LLC filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 18-12839).

White Eagle Asset Portfolio, LP, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-12808).

Checkout Holding Corp. (dba Catalina Marketing), along with ten affiliates and subsidiaries, has filed a petition for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-12794).

interTouch Holdings LLC and its affiliate, interTouch TopCo LLC, have both filed petitions for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-12772).