The Company Voluntary Arrangement (‘CVA’) was introduced into English insolvency law by the Insolvency Act 1986 (the ‘IA 1986’), as a result of recommendations made in the Cork Report1 in 1982.
July 2018
2018 Summer review M&A legal and market developments
In this issue...
Contractual provisions.............................................................1 Company law...........................................................................4
Listed companies....................................................................7 Good faith................................................................................9
Authors: Philip Broke, Veronica Carson
European Leveraged Finance Alert Series: Issue 6, 2018
One: Regulatory framework for Lending in Spain
InLongley v Chief Executive, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection [2018] QCA 32, the Queensland Court of Appeal has clarified the ability of liquidators to disclaim onerous property, including obligations that arise in respect of that property under State environmental legislation.
In its April 2018 decision, the BGH ruled on the question whether the directors of a company that has been granted debtor in possession status by the respective insolvency court can become personally liable for a breach of a duty of care vis-à-vis the creditors like an insolvency administrator. The underlying legal question was the subject of a controversial academic discussion in the past.
The proliferation of the trust as a vehicle for commercial activity presents issues in litigation – principally, whether a beneficiary can step around an impecunious or assetless trustee and recover against other beneficiaries or third parties.
Snapshot
In the recent decision of Jones (liquidator) v Matrix Partners Pty Ltd, re Killarnee Civil & Concrete Contractors Pty Ltd (in liq) [2018] FCAFC 40 (Killarnee), the three member bench comprised Allsop CJ, and Siopis and Farrell JJ. Their Honours of the Full Court wrote three separate judgments, with the Chief Justice writing the lead.
The Victorian Court of Appeal has handed down it’s decision on appeal from Re Amerind (receivers and managers apptd)(in liq) [2017] VSC 127; (2017) 320 FLR 118. The appeal judgment is now up on Austlii and can be read here: Commonwealth of Australia v Byrnes and Hewitt as receivers and managers of Amerind Pty Ltd (receivers and managers apptd)(in liq) [2018] VSCA 41.
2018 will be a year of change, challenges and opportunities for banks and financial services providers.
With miserable Christmas trading figures exacerbating an already challenging climate for UK retailers, a growing number of companies are turning to company voluntary arrangements ("CVAs") as a possible source of respite. Most commonly used by retailers and other UK companies to impose improved lease terms on their landlords, CVAs look set to come back into fashion.
Market Backdrop