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The forecast for the English scheme and plan looks set fair despite concerns around Brexit turbulence.

The restructuring market’s appetite for Part 26 schemes of arrangement and Part 26A restructuring plans shows no signs of diminishing, with some debtors (Smile Telecoms and ED&F Man) even taking a second bite of the cherry. In this article, we explore recurring themes identified in the market throughout the past 18 months.

Out of the money, out of the room

Debtors and investors have an enhanced choice of restructuring venues as the EU Restructuring Directive is rolled out in Member States

It is now just over two years since the UK entered its first emergency Covid-19 induced lockdown. That caused the government to introduce radical emergency legislative measures, preventing landlords from taking certain legal action against their tenants, in a bid to protect businesses, the economy and jobs.

Restrictions on Landlords’ Remedies

On 16 March 2022, the Australian High Court handed down its decision in Wells Fargo Trust Company, National Association (As Owner Trustee) & Anor v VB Leaseco Pty Ltd (Administrators Appointed) & Ors [2022] HCA 8. This is the first judgment by a court of final appeal on the interaction between the Cape Town Convention and local insolvency laws.

Background

The decision raises new questions about whether cross-border insolvency recognition and assistance between mainland China and Hong Kong will be a two-way street.

Watson Farley & Williams has developed the Global Aviation Restructuring Index (“GARI“), an online tool providing a comparative index of 50 restructuring processes in 25+ key aviation jurisdictions. GARI also assigns ‘debtor and creditor friendliness’ scores to each restructuring procedure, allowing for easy comparison across different procedures in the same or multiple jurisdictions. Please to access GARI.

Payment Orders were originally introduced in the CPC as a fast track route for creditors holding a financial instrument, such as a letter of credit or cheque, to obtain judgment against their debtor for what is a simple and indisputable debt. Payment Orders were rarely issued by the onshore UAE courts. In 2018, Cabinet Resolution No 57 of 2018 (the “2018 Cabinet Resolution”) significantly expanded the scope of application of Payment Orders by extending them to all admitted debts rather than simply those arising out of financial instruments only.

A restructuring plan completed earlier this year by Smile Telecoms notches up a number of firsts.

African telecommunications provider Smile Telecoms Holding Limited, incorporated in Mauritius, successfully completed a restructuring plan (the Plan) under Part 26A of the UK Companies Act 2006 at the end of March 2021.

The Plan features a number of novel actions, including: