In March 2015 the major high street retailer British Home Stores (BHS) was acquired for £1 by Retail Acquisitions Limited (RAL), a company owned by Mr Dominic Chappell. Mr Chappell became a director of the BHS entities upon completion of the purchase, together with three other individuals.

In Mitchell and others v Al Jaber; Al Jaber and others v JJW Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 423 the Court of Appeal has confirmed that a director remained subject to a continuing fiduciary duty post liquidation when purporting to transfer assets owned by that company, on the basis he was an “intermeddler”. While the case concerned a BVI company, the court’s decision was based on English-law authorities and therefore has wider significance.

Facts

In the recent case of Loveridge v Povey and Ors [2024] EWHC 329 (Ch) a company shareholder sought to challenge the administrators’ decision to rescue a balance sheet solvent company as a going concern by securing additional funding, as opposed to pursuing a sale of the business.

Background

近年来，由于经济形势下行叠加新冠疫情，众多企业陷入经营困难和债务危机，庭外债务重组因具有较高的灵活性、自主性，不受时间和程序上的限制，成为化解企业债务危机的重要方式，而敏感债权因其涉众性成为庭外债务重组程序中的棘手问题。敏感债权往往与非法集资有着千丝万缕的联系，本文将从庭外重组中涉非（涉嫌非法集资）敏感债权处置角度出发，具体分析敏感债权处置方案中的重点法律问题，以及律师在涉非敏感债权处置中的作用。

一、敏感债权的概念与特征

（一）敏感债权的概念

正如庭外重组一样，对于敏感债权，法律尚未给出明确的定义。结合过往庭外重组等债务风险处置案例，可以将敏感债权理解为：因涉及众多自然人债权人，可能涉嫌非法集资，而需要在债务处置中特别考虑的债权，主要包括涉及个人的理财产品和民间集资。

（二）敏感债权的特征

敏感债权的主要特点如下：

1. 债权人一般为自然人，且人数众多，具有涉众性特点。敏感债权一般涉及众多自然人债权人，这类群体抗风险能力一般较差，企业债务危机爆发后，如果无法及时清偿敏感债权，可能诱发群体性事件，影响社会稳定。

McDermott restructuring plan approved amidst parallel settlement negotiations

The English court has given the green light to the restructuring plan (the Plan) proposed by CB&I UK Limited, part of the McDermott Group, marking the first such approval since the Court of Appeal’s pivotal decision in the Adler case (see our previous update).

The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in the case of Humphrey v Bennett, providing some useful guidance on the nature and scope of a director’s duty to avoid conflicts of interest. The case was an appeal against summary judgment of the High Court following a derivative claim brought on behalf of a company by minority shareholders. The case will be of particular interest to directors of smaller companies whose management structures very often operate on a more informal footing.

Outcome of the UK government's market consultation and the likely shape and impact of the proposed regime

The well-publicised restructuring of the Galapagos group (the group) in 2019 spawned multiple challenges by stakeholders in the courts of a number of different jurisdictions. The latest decision of the English High Court considers the interpretation of the Distressed Disposal provision within an LMA-form intercreditor agreement (ICA) following a challenge by subordinated noteholders (the noteholders) to the validity of the release of their claims as part of the wider restructuring.

The government recently published its response to its earlier consultation on the Hague Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (Hague 2019 or the convention).

The court has the power to challenge any decision of the officeholder in an insolvency process on application by a dissatisfied party. The ambit of that power depends upon the nature of the insolvency process but, broadly, the following categories of people will be entitled to apply: