Introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020, the restructuring plans regime set out in Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 (Plans) has quickly proven a popular route for corporate financial rescue. This is in large part due to the fact that it allows for a plan to be imposed upon dissenting creditor classes in certain circumstances. This is known as "cross-class cramdown".

Welcome to the first issue of Insolvency Matters, our round-up of recent legal developments affecting insolvency and restructuring.

Case round-up

On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS” or the “Court”) released its widely-anticipated decision in Harrington, United States Trustee, Region 2 v. Purdue Pharma L.P.

The inter-relationship between disputed debts, arbitration agreements and winding up proceedings has come up again this time before the Privy Council in Sian Participation Corp (In Liquidation) v Halimeda International Ltd [2024] UKPC 16. In delivering this important judgment, the Privy Council looked closely at the dividing line between two areas of public policy, namely insolvency and arbitration.

Background

This article was first published by Insol World Magazine in Q1 of 2024.

Insolvency office-holders in the UK and elsewhere frequently rely upon litigation funders to finance their legal proceedings and, accordingly, developments in the funding market are of keen interest to insolvency professionals.

Les opérations de gestion du passif gagnent en popularité dans le monde du financement par emprunt. Lorsque les emprunteurs et les émetteurs de titres de créance éprouvent des difficultés à honorer les obligations liées à leurs facilités de crédit, à leurs obligations d’épargne ou à d’autres titres de créance, ils ont recours à des opérations de gestion du passif pour restructurer leurs engagements afin d’obtenir des liquidités supplémentaires sans avoir à obtenir le consentement unanime de leurs créanciers actuels.

On April 16, 2024, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, delivered the Liberal Government’s federal budget, Fairness for Every Generation (Budget 2024). The most notable tax measure in Budget 2024 is the proposal to increase the capital gains inclusion rate from one-half to two-thirds, for capital gains realized on or after June 25, 2024. This measure will apply to all capital gains realized by corporations and trusts, but only will apply to individuals in respect of the portion of capital gains realized in the year that exceeds $250,000.

In this guide, we explain what to do when you no longer need a company that has been incorporated or registered in the British Virgin Islands (Company). Assuming the Company is solvent, you have two options: (1) arrange for the Company to be voluntarily liquidated and dissolved (Liquidated); or (2) leave (or apply for) the Company to be administratively struck-off and dissolved (Administratively Dissolved). For the reasons set out below, we usually recommend a Company is Liquidated, rather than Administratively Dissolved.

Breathing Spaces and Mental Health Crisis Moratoriums (MHCM) were introduced by the Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 (the "2020 Regulations").

On March 11, 2024, the Alberta Government released two Regulations: the Market Power Mitigation Regulation (MPM Regulation) and the Supply Cushion Regulation (the Supply Cushion Regulat