This article was first published in December 2023 by Law360.
English schemes of arrangement have long been used to restructure the debts of both English and foreign companies. This has made the UK a center of cross-border restructurings.
The scheme's more powerful cousin, the restructuring plan, with its ability to cram down entire classes of dissenting creditors, has bolstered the UK's position in the global restructuring market.
On Thursday 9 November, Macfarlanes hosted a webinar which focused on the role of directors and in particular navigating those stresses and strains placed upon them in the uncertainties of the current markets.
The webinar was given by an expert panel comprising of finance partner and head of Macfarlanes’ restructuring and insolvency group, Jat Bains, finance partner and qualified insolvency practitioner, Paul Keddie, and litigation partner, Lois Horne.
The panel discussed the following three principal themes.
On 13 October 2023, the Insolvency Service (IS), acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, discontinued the disqualification proceedings which it had initiated against five former non-executive directors (NEDs) of Carillion plc, the construction and outsourcing giant that collapsed into liquidation in 2018.
Any restructuring where there are multiple tiers of debt and lenders with different interests and views can be tricky. Lenders will try to anticipate these difficulties by entering into an intercreditor agreement (an ICA) setting each lender’s ranking and rights to enforce. Typically, an ICA will allow the senior lenders at least the option of taking the lead on an enforcement or a restructuring.
This week:
Restructuring plans under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 are a powerful tool for restructuring the debts of a company.
Snippet series
What is the impact on the double Luxco and the Luxembourg share pledges?
Luxembourg bolsters its position for the structurings of international investments with the introduction of new tools for bankruptcy prevention. The existing and new financial collateral arrangements maintain their bankruptcy insolvency proceedings remote status, preserving the benefit and popularity of the double Luxco structure and the related enforcement of Luxembourg share security.
This week:
Court imposes compensation order on disqualified director
The court has ordered a disqualified director of an insolvent company to pay personal compensation to creditors.
The court orders a disqualified director of an insolvent company to pay personal compensation to creditors.
This is only the second time the courts have considered a personal compensation order against a disqualified director since their introduction in 2015.
What happened?
Secretary of State v Barnsby [2023] EWHC 2284 (Ch) concerned an individual who was the sole director and majority shareholder of a company that sold package holidays.
Bouwen met vertrouwen: insolventie-gerelateerde aandachtspunten voor opdrachtgevers in bouwcontracten