Since the Dutch Act on Court Confirmation of a Private Restructuring Plan (“WHOA” or “Dutch Scheme”) entered into force on 1 January 2021, Dutch Courts have rendered over 200 judgments.

On 9 March 2023, (one of) the largest Dutch Schemes so far was successfully completed: the restructuring of Royal IHC and its subsidiaries (as announced in IHC’s press release). In this case, the Rotterdam Court made several important decisions enhancing the effectiveness and legal certainty surrounding the WHOA, including regarding:

Entrepreneurs in difficulty, who are struggling with the performance of a contract, may benefit from a restructuring procedure. Any restructuring procedure guarantees the protection of executed contracts, with the most effective solution being the reorganization procedure (postępowanie sanacyjne).

At the end of February 2023, the High Court sanctioned seven restructuring plans for companies in the Lifeways group. Lifeways is a group providing supported living and specialist residential, support and care services at properties throughout the UK.

The case raised several interesting aspects, particularly in relation to the conduct of creditor meetings for a restructuring plan where cross class cram down is sought, and whether there is a read across from scheme case law on this issue.

This note aims to provide brief and practical answers to common questions on the law of assignment in English law finance transactions.

1. Are all notified assignments legal assignments?

Key Takeaways

Incorporating the principles contained in EU insolvency directives, the new Italian Insolvency Code affirms the goal of resolving crises in the least traumatic way possible for the business. This represents a fundamental innovation of the underlying philosophy of Italian insolvency law and the remedies envisaged for companies in distress so that they may successfully restructure their outstanding exposure. Below, we provide a general overview of the Insolvency Code and its key remedies.

The Insolvency Code in brief

Last week HM Treasury published its much anticipated consultation paper on introducing a dedicated Insurer Resolution Regime (IRR) in the UK, which would implement key international standards.

The Corporate Enforcement Authority recently published its guidance note on EU Directive 2019/1023 known as the "Preventive Restructuring Directive", which you will find here (Information Note).

The Dutch Act implementing the EU Directive on Insolvency, Restructuring and Second Chance (the Restructuring Directive) enters into force on 1 January 2023 and will amend the current Act on Court Confirmation of a Private Restructuring Plan (the WHOA) to some extent. Below we have set out some of the material changes as a result of the implementation.

A preventive restructuring framework and second chance

On 7 December 2022, the European Commission published itsproposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law (COM(2022) 702; 2022/0408 (COD)) (the Proposal). Readers may be aware that the EU has already legislated in the area of insolvency.