The Autumn budget will have done little to ease the concerns of companies facing significant trading pressures as the country tries to get back on its feet following the pandemic, the ongoing effects of Brexit, the Ukraine conflict and the current cost of living crisis. Inflation has now topped its forecasted peak at 11.1%; there are soaring energy prices and the UK is now officially in recession.

Long-awaited amendments to Guernsey's corporate insolvency legislation will come into force on 1 January 2023.

Introduced by the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 (Insolvency) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, the provisions are aimed at further improving and updating Guernsey's corporate insolvency regime. The amendments stem from a wide-ranging consultation finalised in 2017 and represent the most significant development of Guernsey's insolvency law since 2008.

The amendments introduce a number of key changes to the law:

Liquidation

In the recent judgement of In the matter of SPARC Group Limited (en désastre) [2022] JRC 194 (SPARC Group), the Royal Court of Jersey considered the appropriate test for the making of a disqualification order against a director, with the stark nature of the facts justifying a lengthy term of disqualification.

Background 

The application for a disqualification order was made by the Viscount, in respect of Andrew Jeremy Mills (Mr Mills), who was the sole director of SPARC Group Limited (the Company), a property development business. 

Two decisions handed down on the same day – one by the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal and the other by the Commercial Division of the High Court – illustrate the approach of British Virgin Islands Courts to applications to appoint liquidators in circumstances where the subject matter of a dispute as to the existence of a debt falls within the scope of an arbitration agreement.

Introduction

A summary winding up is the procedure used to wind up a solvent Jersey company under the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 (the 1991 Law). 

This guide examines the procedure for carrying out a summary winding up. 

Steps

The steps necessary to carry out a summary winding up are as follows:

The Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010 (the “2010 Act”) came into force on 1 August 2016 and replaced the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930 (the “1930 Act”).

The previous 1930 Act had enabled a third party to bring a claim directly against an insurer where the insured had become insolvent, however a claimant had to (i) restore a dissolved company to the register of companies and obtain the leave of the court to allow proceedings to be commenced; (ii) obtain judgment against the insured; and (iii) commence separate proceedings against the insurer.

In one of the most important trust decisions of recent years, which was handed down on Thursday 13 October 2022, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the JCPC) held that the rights of indemnity of successive trustees against the assets of an insolvent trust fund (ie a trust fund that is unable to meet those liabilities) rank pari passu and not on a first in time basis.

Litigation funding continues to be a popular investment vehicle in the UK as the assets available to funders topped £2bn at the start of the decade. Bloomberg has noted that a “flood of money” was moving into the area. This trend appears likely to continue as funders are attracted to litigation as an investment vehicle as economic uncertainty persists and the post-COVID litigation landscape develops.

On 5 October 2022, the Supreme Court delivered its long awaited judgment in BTI 2014 LLC V Sequana SA [2022] UKSC 25 dismissing an appeal by BTI. Lord Reed and Lady Arden each gave their own judgments which concurred, largely applying the same reasoning, with the judgment of Lord Briggs with whom Lord Kitchen and Lord Hodge agreed.

mourant.com 2021934/84654107/1 GUIDE Insolvency claims in Guernsey Last reviewed: September 2022 Contents Introduction 2 Misfeasance / breach of statutory duty 2 Wrongful trading 2 Fraudulent trading 3 Preferences 3 Transactions at undervalue 4 Extortionate credit transactions 4 Director disqualification 4 Relief from sanctions 5 Contacts 5 2 mourant.com 2021934/84654107/1 Introduction When a company enters into a formal insolvency process, the office holder will conduct an examination into the affairs of the company.