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The Labor and Employment Group at Hogan Lovells is proud to have contributed to the 2020 version of the firm’s Doing Business in the United States Guide. The Guide provides a high-level overview of the laws and practices important to foreign investors interested in operating in the United States, including recent legal developments.

On top of the multiple challenges hitting retail and leisure landlords and occupiers arising from COVID-19, the news that Intu has had to write down the value of its shopping centre portfolio by nearly £2 billion came as further bad news.

It seems that business disruption due to coronavirus is pretty inevitable. What should you as a company director be doing if the disruption means your business starts to suffer?

What changes for me as a director?

As a director, you know that you owe duties to the company. When the business starts heading towards insolvency, there is a change of emphasis and instead of doing what is best for the shareholders, you have to change and consider what the consequences of your actions will be for the company’s creditors.

The UK Parliament made an Order on 3 March 2020 which increases the prescribed part, payable to unsecured creditors from floating charge recoveries on the insolvency of a company from £600,000 to £800,000.

Back in August 2018, in its paper entitled “Government Response: Insolvency and Corporate Governance” (the 2018Paper) the Government responded to its consultation on ‘Insolvency and Corporate Governance‘ with the announcement of several reforms and proposed next steps.

The UK Parliament made an Order on 3 March 2020 which increases the prescribed part, payable to unsecured creditors from floating charge recoveries on the insolvency of a company from £600,000 to £800,000.

Back in August 2018, in its paper entitled “Government Response: Insolvency and Corporate Governance” (the 2018 Paper) the Government responded to its consultation on ‘Insolvency and Corporate Governance' with the announcement of several reforms and proposed next steps.

Two recent decisions involving health care companies demonstrate how reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code1 can be used to manage large liabilities.

Actions taken to seize control of a securitisation structure and the underlying loan portfolio declared void and of no effect.

Two recent High Court cases, Business Mortgage Finance 6 Plc v Greencoat Investments Limited and others [2019] EWHC 2128 (Ch) (the Greencoat Case) and Business Mortgage Finance 6 Plc v Roundstone Technologies Ltd [2019] EWHC 2917 (Ch) (the Roundstone Case) (together, the Business Mortgage Cases), have affirmed a number of principles relating to securities held through the clearing systems and the powersof receivers, including the following:

Hogan Lovells Publications | 17 February 2020

"The Net Short": U.S. and European High-Yield Covenant Trends in Response to Net Short Activism

Tightening trade restrictions and concerns swirling around intellectual property rights are creating new risks for conglomerates faced with financial stress, especially when it comes to selling their assets.

When conglomerates encounter financial difficulties, they often sell assets to raise cash and pay off debts. But governments in the United States and elsewhere have begun to increase scrutiny of sales of assets to foreign entities buyers. Many governments have the power to restrict certain sales of assets on the basis of national interest concerns.