On 10 November 2014, the Privy Council handed down its decision in Singularis Holdings Limited v PricewaterhouseCoopers¹, together with its decision in a related case, PricewaterhouseCoopers v Saad Investments Company Limited², both on appeal from the Court of Appeal in Bermuda. The decision provides guidance on the application of the principle of modified universalism.

This newsletter refers to Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy news of November 2014.

H.A.M.A.C: adoption de la première sauvegarde accélérée

Le 19 septembre 2014, le tribunal de commerce de Nanterre a ouvert la toute première procédure de sauvegarde accélérée au bénéfice de H.A.M.A.C, la société holding du groupe Alma Consulting, auquel appartient le cabinet de conseil Alma Consulting Group.

A recent decision¹ from the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands demonstrates a flexible use of the scheme of arrangement process to achieve a commercial resolution of an application to remove the SPhinX Group's joint official liquidators ("JOLs"). 

Schroder Exempt Property Unit Trust and another v. Birmingham City Council [2014] EWHC 2207

Summary

A landlord is liable for business rates where a tenant's lease is disclaimed, even if the landlord does not take possession of the property following a disclaimer.

Background

The Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Group considers the English law position.

Wrongful Trading

The Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Group considers the legal, commercial and practical issues.

Do a deal quickly!

Often it is in the interests of both buyer and seller to negotiate and complete a deal as soon as possible to preserve value in the business before goodwill is tainted with any stigma of insolvency or key employees, suppliers or customers leave the business.

Buy the business not the shares

MiFID 2 package published in OJEU: The text of the recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID 2) and its related Regulation (MiFIR) were published in OJEU on 12 June and will come into force on the 20th day following that of their publication. Member States have to transpose MiFID 2 by 3 July 2016 and both it and MiFIR will apply from 3 January 2017.

KEY POINTS

CLLS responds on bail-in: CLLS' financial and insolvency law committees have responded to Treasury's consultation on the implementation of bail-in powers. CLLS feels it would have been better for the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013 and relevant secondary legislation to have been promulgated only once the EU Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) was final. However, it appears the UK Government does not want to wait until January 2016 to apply bail-in requirements and so is proceeding ahead of the EU timetable.

What you need to know

The entry of the Cape Town Convention into force under Canadian law is a positive step, but has led to a legislative “black hole” in the protection provided to certain aviation creditors, bringing with it considerable uncertainty and potentially expensive ramifications.

The Cape Town Convention in Canada