The Cayman Islands' Companies (Amendment) Act, 2021 (the Amendment Act) has now come into force. The Amendment Act introduces a new corporate restructuring process and the concept of a dedicated 'restructuring officer' into the Cayman Islands Companies Act (2022 Revision). Under the Amendment Act, the filing of a petition for the appointment of a restructuring officer triggers an automatic global moratorium on claims against the company, giving it the opportunity to seek to implement a restructuring.
Introduction
This Guide explains the procedure for administration order proceedings in respect of Guernsey companies.
Administration orders
The purpose of administration orders
The provisions for Guernsey companies to be placed into administration are set out in Part XXI of the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 (the Law).
The corporate insolvency statistics for Q2 2022 paint a worrying picture for UK businesses. With inflation at a 40-year high, fuelled by soaring gas and electricity bills, food prices and wage increases, the cost of living crisis is taking hold across the economy.
Introduction
This Guide explains the procedure for liquidation proceedings in Guernsey, which are separated into two types: (i) voluntary liquidation and (ii) compulsory liquidation.
Liquidation proceedings
Voluntary liquidation
The provisions for the voluntarily winding up a company under Guernsey law are set out in Part XXII of the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 (the Law).
Commencement
Four directors have been disqualified for abusing the dissolution process pursuant to powers introduced by the Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Act 2021 (the Act). In each case, the director secured a bounce back loan on behalf of their company before taking steps to dissolve the company in an attempt to avoid repaying liabilities under the scheme.
BVI | CAYMAN ISLANDS | GUERNSEY | HONG KONG | JERSEY | LONDON mourant.com 2021934/84097043/1 GUIDE Insolvency procedures for Guernsey companies Last reviewed: August 2022 Contents Introduction 2 Modern corporate insolvency proceedings 2 Administration 2 Liquidation 3 Voluntary liquidation 3 Compulsory liquidation 3 Scheme of arrangement 4 Statutory process 4 Three-stage mechanism 4 Approval and challenges 4 Receivership 5 The traditional procedures 5 Désastre 5 Saisie 6 Out-of-court restructurings and consensual workouts 6 Legislative changes 6 Conclusion 7 Contacts 7 BVI | CAYMAN ISLANDS |
The government’s monthly insolvency statistics for June 2022 paint a picture of an economy that is still struggling to return to pre-pandemic profitability. Company insolvencies were 40% higher than for the same period last year and 15% higher than in June 2019 (i.e. pre-pandemic levels), with the increased level of insolvencies being largely driven by the higher number of creditors’ voluntary liquidations.
Anyone working in financial services will be aware of the requirement for individuals carrying out regulated roles to be "fit and proper". Clearly this is going to include solid personal finances and demonstrable honesty and integrity. The EAT decided that an estate agent who was dismissed because he became bankrupt and did not tell his employer was fairly dismissed.
On 22 July 2022, judgment was handed down in relation to the sanction of the first Part 26A restructuring plan to be proposed by a small–medium enterprise (SME) in Re Houst Limited [2022] EWHC 1941 (Ch). The restructuring plan (RP) procedure set out in Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) has been widely considered to be out of the reach of SMEs due to excessive cost. The decision is also an interesting one for other reasons, notably the cram-down of HMRC as a dissenting creditor.
The Cayman Islands Government has published a Commencement Order confirming that the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2021 will come into force on 31 August 2022.
The Amendment Act introduces a new corporate restructuring process and the concept of a dedicated restructuring officer into the Cayman Islands Companies Act (2022 Revision).
Under the Amendment Act, the filing of a petition for the appointment of a restructuring officer will trigger an automatic global moratorium on claims against the company, giving it the opportunity to seek to implement a restructuring.