Since our last blog on this topic, the English court has provided further guidance on certain key issues and novel features relevant to restructuring plans and schemes of arrangement in its recent judgments on Amigo Loans, Smile Telecoms, EDF & Man, Re Safari Holdings (Löwen Play) and Haya. This piece provides an overview of key points from these cases.

In 1907, Robert Baden-Powell, an English soldier, devised the Scout motto: Be Prepared. Upon hearing the Scout motto, someone asked Baden-Powell the inevitable follow-up question.

“Prepared for what?”

“Why, for any old thing,” he replied.

In Scouting for Boys (published in 1908), Baden-Powell wrote that to ‘Be Prepared’ means “you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty.” More than a century later, preparedness is still a cornerstone of Scouting.

Another interesting summary in the Times reporting on the staggering levels of fraud committed against the UK taxpayer during the pandemic. Whilst the Insolvency Service are clearly doing their best to hold fraudsters to account through disqualification orders and similar punitive measures, it appears that we are no closer to a financial recovery of any meaningful value, or at the very least imposing real financial pain on those who took advantage of the country’s generosity in the face of the unprecedented challenges of the Covid pandemic.

Four months ago I posted this article on the impact of Omicron related restrictions and other economic headwinds on an already battered hospitality and leisure sector. Operators in these sectors have worked so hard to survive the Covid-era by cutting costs, seeking operational efficiencies, and negotiating support from stakeholders and we all hoped that Omicron was but a short-term delay in the return to normalcy.

Celebrated WWII leader, General George Patton, once said “Do not try to make circumstances fit your plans. Make plans that fit the circumstances.” Unfortunately, it’s advice that is not being fully heeded, according to the FCA’s latest thematic review on wind-down planning The FCA has concluded that “significant further work” is needed to ensure wind-down plans are credible and operable, and has urged all firms to ensure adequate procedures and resources (both financial and non-financial) are in place.

Government support during the pandemic and extremely strong credit markets saw exceptional fund raising levels in 2021, in spite of a slower Q4. Borrowers secured increasingly favourable terms from their lenders, with only a little pushback as the year progressed. Private credit continued to compete for greater market share and found interesting opportunities in smaller and more complex names. 2021 has proved to be a record year for financings and the continued availability of cheap capital, with reasonable stability and outperformance from riskier credits.

The restructuring plan has so far proven to be a powerful tool to facilitate restructurings of complex capital structures. Two recent cases provide further helpful guidance for advisers when formulating a restructuring plan and for investors who may be affected by its terms.

Amicus Finance plc (in administration) ("Amicus")

It is almost inevitable that despite the ongoing hard work by the FCA to protect customers against ruthless and reckless “investment advisors”, the number of financial scams will continue to rise over the next couple of years.

The investigation of misadvised defined benefit (DB) pension transfers has been a key focus area for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) following a review which deemed many transfers were unsuitable – including the high-profile restructuring of the British Steel Pension Scheme in 2017 which left thousands of members with little time to make complex investment decisions.

On 29 September 2021 the High Court dismissed a challenge to Caffè Nero’s 2020 CVA brought by one of its landlords, Ronald Young. Young asserted that the CVA was unfairly prejudicial and subject to material irregularities (thereby engaging both grounds of challenge under s.6 of the Insolvency Act 1986), and that the CVA nominees and company directors had breached their duties by failing to adjourn or postpone voting on the CVA upon receipt of a late-in-the-day offer for the Caffè Nero group.