Irish company law provides that if a charge granted by a company is not registered in the Companies Registration Office (CRO) within 21 days of its creation, it is void against a liquidator and any creditor of the company. There is a duty imposed on a company which grants a charge to register the charge in the CRO but the creditor taking the charge can also do so.
Diamond Rock Developments Ltd (the Company) granted a mortgage over a property. That mortgage was registered in the Land Registry but was not registered in the CRO.
Facts
Insolvency Act 2003
Comment
In the Three Arrows case,(1) the BVI Court has endorsed what is believed to be its first extra-territorial order summoning directors of a BVI company (in liquidation) to appear for private examination by joint liquidators.
If you supply goods, the simplest step that you can take to reduce your exposure to a customer’s insolvency is to use effective retention of title (RoT).
However not all RoT clauses are effective and we see many RoT claims rejected in insolvency.
By default, once you sell goods on credit:
- the goods belong to the customer; and
- the customer owes you the purchase price.
This means that if an insolvency practitioner (IP) is appointed to the customer:
Corporate insolvency in BVI is governed by the Insolvency Act, 2003 (as amended) and the Insolvency Rules, 2005 (as amended). These laws are closely based on the English Insolvency Act 1986. There are a number of insolvency regimes available.
In Re Touradji Private Equity Master Fund Ltd, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands made a supervision order in respect of three funds in voluntary liquidation, following applications by certain aggrieved investors and the joint voluntary liquidators, and over the objections of the investment manager.
Two broad themes are currently emerging in relation to European private equity real estate financing.
First, market commentary has noted that €150 billion of this finance is due to mature by 2025 – the "wall of credit".
In the recent Cayman Islands case of Re In the Matter of E-House (China) Enterprise Holdings Limited[1], dealing with creditors' schemes of arrangement, Justice Segal gave a helpful decision that provided judicial clarity on, among other matters, the potential impact of the recent sanctions regimes in the US, UK and Europe on the scheme, and the international effectiveness of the scheme.
In BVIHC(COM) 2022/0119, Russell Crumpler and Christopher Farmer as Joint Liquidators of Three Arrows Capital Ltd (in liquidation) -and- (1) Zhu Su (2) Kyle Davies
The BVI Court has endorsed what is believed to be its first extra-territorial order summoning directors of a BVI company (in liquidation) to appear for private examination by joint liquidators.
In the current economic environment, directors will be fully focussed on avoiding any breach of their fiduciary duties, particularly if they are directors of companies experiencing or at risk of financial distress.
This client briefing provides a general overview of the duties of directors of Guernsey companies in these circumstances and is not comprehensive. We recommend that clients obtain specific legal advice in relation to any individual matter which may concern them.
Who are the Directors?