Background

In the period since its inception in 2020, the Part 26A restructuring plan has proven to be a powerful addition to the English restructuring toolkit, allowing – through cross-class cram down – a transaction to be imposed on a dissenting class. There is a great deal of flexibility with this power; in particular, unlike with many other regimes, there is no absolute priority rule, and therefore it is possible (in justifiable circumstances) for shareholders to retain a material equity stake, while one or more creditor classes are compromised.

Following its acquisition of the Regal cinema chain in the US in 2018, Cineworld, with its English-incorporated parent company, London premium listing and status as a household name in the UK cinema industry, became a truly transatlantic business. Add that to its businesses in Central and Eastern Europe and Israel, and Cineworld is one of the largest cinema chains in the world, operating in 10 countries with 672 sites and 8,181 screens.

In Berryman v Zurich Australia Ltd [2016] WASC 196 it was decided that a bankrupt's entitlement to claim a TPD benefit under a life insurance policy is not an entitlement that is divisible amongst the bankrupt's creditors, and therefore such an entitlement does not vest in the Official Trustee in bankruptcy. Tottle J of the Supreme Court of Western Australia ruled that the bankrupt insured could continue an action in his own name to recover the TPD benefit. Life insurers may need to adjust their claims' payment practices in light of the Berryman decision.