From 1 September 2023, the Belgian reorganisation procedure by way of a collective plan will be radically changed for large companies. It introduces the obligation to group creditors (and shareholders) into “classes” for the purpose of voting on a restructuring plan.

The Belgian Act of 7 June 2023 transposing EU Restructuring Directive (2019/1023) introduces new rules specifically aimed at large companies filing for a judicial reorganisation through a collective plan (similar to the US Chapter 11 or UK Restructuring Plan procedure).

Key Takeaways

In welcome news for insolvency practitioners, the Supreme Court has limited the circumstances in which a dissatisfied bankrupt will have standing to challenge a trustee in bankruptcy's decisions or actions under section 303(1) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (Act), to those where there is likely to be a surplus in the bankruptcy estate (subject to only very limited exceptions). The Supreme Court acknowledged that, while this decision is about bankruptcy, the reasoning will also apply to challenges to liquidators' decisions under section 168(5) of the Act.

In welcome news for insolvency practitioners, the Supreme Court has limited the circumstances in which a dissatisfied bankrupt will have standing to challenge a trustee in bankruptcy's decisions or actions under section 303(1) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (Act), to those where there is likely to be a surplus in the bankruptcy estate (subject to only very limited exceptions). The Supreme Court acknowledged that, while this decision is about bankruptcy, the reasoning will also apply to challenges to liquidators' decisions under section 168(5) of the Act.

On 29 June 2023, Mr Justice Michael Green in the High Court sanctioned a Part 26A restructuring plan proposed by First Clubs Limited (Fitness First), a wholly owned subsidiary of Maddox Holdings Limited, notwithstanding challenges from certain opposing creditors.

On 5 July 2023, the High Court sanctioned the restructuring plan proposed by Prezzo Investco Limited (theCompany) despite opposition from HMRC.

In yet another major restructuring in the Netherlands, the Dutch Court confirmed a restructuring plan under the Dutch Act on Court Confirmation of a Private Restructuring Plan (WHOA). The public restructuring of the Steinhoff Group (Steinhoff) was approved by the Amsterdam Court on 21 June 2023, only seven days after the confirmation hearing.

The government’s Insolvency Service published its Post Implementation Review of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) on 27 June 2023. The overall conclusion from the data collected, including a survey of insolvency practitioners, is that the permanent CIGA measures have been broadly welcomed by stakeholders and are seen as a positive addition to the UK’s rescue framework.

In Re Guy Lam Kwok Hung [2023] HKCFA 9, the Court of Final Appeal clarified when a debtor can resist a bankruptcy petition based on an exclusive jurisdiction clause (EJC) in his contract with the petitioner creditor. It is important to appreciate the Court’s reasoning and how it can be applied to various factual scenarios.

The characterisation of a charge as fixed or floating can have significant ramifications for the chargee on chargor’s insolvency. This is because the holder of a fixed charge enjoys significant advantage, in terms of the order of priority of distributions to creditors, over a floating charge holder.

On 16 May 2023, Mr Justice Adam Johnson in the High Court refused to sanction the restructuring plan proposed by The Great Annual Savings Company Limited (GAS) following objections from HMRC.