The European Union (Preventive Restructuring) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations) were signed into law in Ireland on 27 July 2022. The Regulations provide for the transposition of the mandatory articles of Directive (EU) 2019/1023 on preventive restructuring frameworks, on discharge of debt and disqualifications, and on measures to increase the efficiency of procedures concerning restructuring, insolvency and discharge of debt (the Directive).
On 27 July 2022, the European Union (Preventive Restructuring) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 380/2022) (the Regulations) amended the Irish Companies Act 2014 (the Act) by transposing certain requirements of Directive (EU) 2019/1023 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 (the Directive) not already provided for in Irish law.
This has resulted in a number of modifications to the examinership regime and, for the first time, a codification of directors' duties when companies are in the `zone of insolvency'.
The changes to the Examinership regime include:
In a major development that will be welcomed by anyone engaged in pursuing international fraud claims, the Civil Procedure Rules Committee (CPRC) has approved expansions to the gateways for service out of the jurisdiction as set out in Practice Direction 6B (PD 6B), which will come into force this October.
In this week’s update: an updated checklist for managing an electronic signing on a corporate or commercial transaction, the FCA and AIM are to bring an end to temporary relaxations introduced due to Covid-19 and the court orders a listed company to be wound up on “just and equitable grounds.
Voyager Aviation Holdings, LLC (Voyager) is a privately held aircraft owner and lessor with approximately $2 billion in assets. Voyager is headquartered in Dublin and has offices in Stamford, Connecticut.
Earlier this year, A&L Goodbody LLP advised Voyager on the successful restructuring of its senior note obligations.1 The restructuring was implemented by way of a US exchange offer that simultaneously solicited support for both a "plan B" Irish scheme of arrangement and a "plan C" prepack US Chapter 11.
The Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill has been introduced in Parliament and addresses rent debts under business tenancies adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
New Legislation
In this week’s update: Funds in a holding company’s bank account belonged to a subsidiary and could be used to pay the costs of a subsidiary’s acquisition, the FCA publishes a series of Q&A on the cessation of LIBOR and the Government publishes a roadmap towards greening finance and sustainable investing.
Despite the economic disruption of Covid-19 and resulting lockdowns, the number of formal insolvencies has been remarkably low.
The recent case of Official Receiver v Deuss [2021] EWHC 1842 (Ch) provides legal and insolvency practitioners with guidance as to the test to be applied when considering whether a third-party costs order should be made against a liquidator who takes steps against an alleged de facto director of the company in liquidation. In this case, the step concerned was an application for public examination pursuant to section 133(2) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (the Section 133 Application).
As the end of Covid restrictions rapidly approaches in the UK, a number of businesses are considering how they might deal with the issue of debts which have built up since the start of the first lockdown in March 2020. Whilst an encouraging number of companies have been able to avoid formal insolvency proceedings, the various Government support schemes and restrictions on enforcement action, which were introduced to help companies navigate the pandemic, have led to significant liabilities accruing on balance sheets.