Carey Olsen is proud to have sponsored the 7th annual INSOL International Channel Islands Seminar which took place in Jersey on 14 September 2021.
The seminar, which provided a welcome opportunity for insolvency practitioners and advisers to reconnect in person, showed why Jersey and Guernsey remain leading locations for structuring complex financial transactions and for the secured lending market.
The following key points were amongst or relate to those discussed at the seminar.
No pandemic-driven barriers to enforcement
On July 28, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada (the "SCC") released its decision in Canada v Canada North Group Inc.[1] (2021 SCC 30) confirming that court-ordered super-priority charges ("Priming Charges") granted pursuant to the Companies' Creditors Arrang
Many describe the United States as Canada's most important trade partner. Cross-border insolvency proceedings between the two jurisdictions are frequent and the recognition by one country's court of the other's bankruptcy orders is an important tool in facilitating the restructuring of companies with operations that spread across North America. A recent decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal (leave to appeal of which was denied by the Supreme Court of Canada) invites us to reflect on the delicate balance between comity for foreign orders and Canada's sovereignty over domestic laws.
Trilogy Management Limited v White Willow (Trustees) Limited and Others, 13 May 2021
Fallout from the global pandemic continues to throw light on the responsibilities of directors in times of financial distress. This briefing examines those duties in greater detail, particularly in relation to Guernsey’s company law.
Decisions, decisions
Directors owe duties to the companies they serve and ordinarily discharge those duties with reference to the interests of the companies’ members as a whole.
A strata wind-up is an excellent way to realize the economic potential of a multi-unit residential property (the "strata") by leveraging the value of each unit in the strata as a whole to a developer that may want to re-develop on the strata's property. This article summarizes the onset and development of this emerging sector in light of recent case law and current events.
Introduction to strata wind-ups
The Virgin Active restructuring plan judgment was released last week, with a resounding win for Virgin Active over the opposing landlords. Melanie Leech, on behalf of the British Property Federation, said, "This Restructuring Plan sets a dangerous precedent and demonstrates how the law is now allowing wealthy individuals and private equity backers to extract value from their businesses in good times but later claim insolvency, as simply a means to get out of their contractual obligations with property owners.
Virgin Active has been in the news recently, as it has proposed restructuring plans which rely on the new legislation found in the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Act 2020.
In this insight, we will explain:
When used correctly, pre-pack administrations can be an effective means of creating an opportunity for the rescue of an insolvent business. However, concerns are regularly expressed about the lack of transparency in the sale process and the potential for poor outcomes for unsecured creditors, particularly where a disposal involves connected parties. These concerns have been exacerbated by some unfavourable media reports about a limited number of high-profile cases, and the speed at which transactions are often required to take place in order to preserve value and jobs.
In its recent decision in Net International Property Limited v Erez, the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal considered whether the BVI Courts had jurisdiction at common law to recognize an insolvency office-holder appointed in the courts of Israel, and whether and to what extent the BVI Courts could grant assistance to that office-holder at common law.