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The government has introduced the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill in Parliament, which will put in place a series of measures. This includes temporarily removing the threat of personal The liability for wrongful trading from directors trying to keep their companies afloat through the emergency. 

The highly anticipated Insolvency and Corporate Governance Bill (the "Bill") was finally published on 20 May 2020. Following its second and third readings in the House of Commons yesterday (3 June 2020), the Bill will now be considered by the House of Lords in the coming days.

As reported last month, as part of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK Government has brought forward reforms to the corporate insolvency regime. The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the "Bill") has now been introduced to Parliament.

Applying for permission to advance fresh evidence on appeal is a tricky application, which has had varying degrees of success in the courts. Zheng Yougxiong v Gate Ventures Plc(1) is a useful example of the application of the criteria, albeit in the context of insolvency proceedings.

Background

Mr Zheng was a shareholder in, and creditor of, Gate Ventures plc. He sought and failed to obtain an administration order against Gate Ventures plc on the basis of a £2.5 million debt (the First Application).

This note discusses two recent decisions of the Court of Appeal of Singapore that dealt with the standard of review to be applied in winding up proceedings where a debtor asserts that there is a dispute which parties agreed to resolve by way of arbitration.

Winding up proceedings

It is quite often that we see contracts providing for disputes arising under the contract to be resolved by way of arbitration.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the far reaching and drastic measures implemented in numerous countries around the world, we are receiving an increasing number of insolvency and restructuring enquiries from our clients.

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On Friday 24 April, RPC hosted a 30 minute webinar on the interaction of furloughing and insolvency law.

During this session, our Insolvency Partner Paul Bagon discussed the recent High Court judgement involving Italian restaurant chain Carluccio's, which entered administration at the end of March.

When the Coronavirus Act 2020 (the "Act") received royal assent on 25 March 2020, commercial tenants across the country were afforded some relief.

On 28 March 2020 the Business Secretary announced further new far-reaching measures to help businesses combat the financial impact of COVID-19.

In a welcome intervention, the Business Secretary declared it was the government’s intention to suspend wrongful trading provisions and to introduce a moratorium for businesses undergoing a restructuring process. Both measures are intended to assist companies to trade through financial distress caused by the loss of business due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As previously reported, the UK Government has announced that it will urgently bring forward proposed reforms to the corporate insolvency regime, to give "breathing space" to companies in financial difficulty as a result of Covid-19. The proposed reforms, based on a consultation in 2018, include new restructuring and temporary moratorium procedures.