Fulltext Search

Today (16 June 2021) the UK governmentannounced a further extension of some (but not all) of the temporary measures first introduced by the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Act 2020 (CIGA) in June last year.

The two most significant temporary measures for companies facing financial difficulties as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic were:

Today (16 June 2021) the UK governmentannounced a further extension of some (but not all) of the temporary measures first introduced by the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Act 2020 (CIGA) in June last year.

The two most significant temporary measures for companies facing financial difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic were:

There has been much debate in recent years around the use made of certain UK restructuring tools – the company voluntary arrangement and, more recently, the new restructuring plan – to restructure commercial property leases. Commercial tenants argue that compromise is necessary to address high fixed costs that are no longer sustainable, but landlords have often been critical of the approach taken. This debate has become more acute in the context of the pandemic, as many High Street businesses subject to mandatory closure have built up significant rent arrears that need to be addressed.

The financial loss and the uncertainty caused by the pandemic continues to affect business globally, and an increase in corporate insolvency is widely anticipated. Arbitration is an effective dispute resolution mechanism, but a counterparty entering insolvency proceedings can be disruptive. We recently wrote about insolvency being one of the key trends in international arbitration in 2021.

A new bill, which the UK Government introduced to Parliament on 12 May 2021, seeks to extend the existing directors’ disqualification regime to the directors of dissolved companies.

With the global economic downturn, businesses may begin to show signs of insolvency. Indeed, we have seen an increasing number of applications for compulsory winding-up processed by Hong Kong courts. 

着全球经济陷入低迷,企业无力偿债的迹象开始浮现。事实上,我们看到香港法院处理的强制清盘申请数目正在增加。

若您是债权人一方,当您的债务人无法还款时,很自然地您会考虑应采取哪些行动。如果债务人是离岸公司,情况或会变得复杂。近期有数宗个案涉及在香港联交所上市的公司,其注册地位于其他司法管辖区,而资产和主要业务则位于中国內地。这些个案显示,债权人在处理拥有类似分层架构的公司时需要考虑一些重要问题。这份客户简报就这些问题和应考虑的事项进行讨论。

将一家公司清盘

如您的债务人无法还款,您会开始考虑各种选项,而选项之一可能是将该公司清盘。然而,在展开有关行动前,您应该先评估一些事项。

在香港进行清盘

债务人能否就债务提出有实质理由的争辩?

在对债务人公司进行清盘时,您会以债务人无力偿还债务作为理由1,而常见用以支持这个理由的依据是债务人在收到法定要求偿债书后三个星期内仍未能清偿债务。

Last week was a busy week for the courts: we reported on the landlord-led challenges to the New Look CVA and the Virgin Active restructuring plan. Neither judgment made happy reading for landlords, with all challenges dismissed in New Look and the restructuring plan sanctioned despite their objections in Virgin Active. The story has slightly improved for landlords today with the court revoking the Regis CVA. There are important findings from Regis, but in itself the judgment will not be sufficient to turn the tide.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spanish Government has approved a number of financial support measures to address companies’ liquidity requirements, including the creation of two guarantee schemes (líneas de avales) managed through the Spanish Official Credit Institute (Instituto de Crédito Oficial ICO) in relation to financings granted to companies and the self-employed: