This briefing first appeared in the June 2020 edition of South Square Digest.
Executive Summary
In February 2020 the British Virgin Islands Commercial Court (the "BVI Court") sanctioned a creditor scheme of arrangement, which was part of a much larger cross boarder restructuring. This scheme of arrangement, which as a creditor scheme was itself rare for the BVI, was preceded by the BVI's first ever "soft touch" provisional liquidation (in linked proceedings), which commenced in December 2018.
On 26 June 2020 the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (the Act) came into force, introducing a number of temporary measures to assist companies facing financial difficulties as a consequence of COVID-19. These temporary provisions apply retroactively to cover the period commencing 1 March 2020 (26 March 2020 with respect to corporate governance provisions) and ending on 30 September 2020 (the Relevant Period).
On 25 June 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (the Act) received Royal Assent, and the majority of its provisions are now in force. The Act has introduced a number of permanent reforms and temporary measures, which together represent the most significant change to English insolvency law in nearly 20 years.
Permanent Reforms
The permanent reforms include:
Introduction
Solvency test
Standing and process
Purposes of administration
Effects of administration order
Administrator's duties and functions
Remuneration and swearing in of administrator
In an application by Joint Official Liquidators for sanction of an agreement to sell the assets of a Company over the objections of creditors, the Court has confirmed the importance of establishing a clear and transparent sale process, which enjoys the confidence of the interested parties, in order to establish that the sale agreement is in the best interests of creditors.
Background
