Whilst most people would hope it could never happen to them, in our experience it often can. As such it pays to be prepared.

We have recently published a few blogs on the hot topic of company insolvencies, including more specifically about:

The English High Court decision of Hunt v Singh [2023] EWHC 1784 (Ch) has provided the most substantive authority on directors' duties to creditors since the decision of the Supreme Court in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA and others [2022] UKSC 25 (“Sequana”). The case specifically considered the point at which a director’s duty to take into account the interests of creditors arises.

Given the current financial climate you may wonder what options are open to you or your organisation when you are owed money by a third party. There can often be an assumption that lengthy court processes are required to recover sums due. That is not the case and in this article we consider some of the options available to help recover debts in Scotland.

Pre-Court Action

Statutory Demand

Do landlords do get a good deal in CVAs? It would seem they do (if you don't read the small print…)

A few weeks ago we blogged that we were expecting RSM's research report, which was commissioned by the Insolvency Service, into the impact of CVAs on the landlords. The specific question in the research paper was: "are landlords equitably treated, compared to other creditors in large business CVAs?".

If you have fraudulently obtained Covid-19 financial support, such as a Bounce Back Loan, you must be pretty worried by recent headlines that show company directors being disqualified, fined and jailed.

The recent English High Court decision of Re Glam and Tan Ltd [2022] EWHC 855 (Ch) highlights the ways in which a director can be found liable, as well as the reasons why they may be relieved of responsibility for breaches of section 212 of the Insolvency Act 1986, which penalises delinquent directors and officers.

The legislation

Our recent updates have explained the rise in instances of fraud and the civil litigation options open to victims of fraudulent conduct.

The results of KPMG's Fraud Barometer showed a significant increase in fraud cases in 2021, confirming the general upward trend in this area. My colleagues recently prepared an update on the case of Hewlett Packard v Lynch, described as one of the most expensive and high profile fraud trials in recent history.

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 ("CIGA") came into force on 26 June 2020 with the main objective of giving businesses "breathing space" in order to continue trading in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was progressed quickly through parliament and includes a number of temporary measures aimed at immediately reducing the number of companies entering insolvency procedures.