In this week’s update: Guidance on virtual board and committee meetings, updates and guidance on AGMs, pre-emption principles are relaxed and a few other items.

This week, in coronavirus-related news

The Coronavirus Act 2020 is now in force and Section 82 of that Act effecting the postponement of the landlord’s right to forfeit for non-payment of rent is causing consternation amongst both landlords and tenants as they seek to navigate through these uncertain times.

In last week's Government budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that Crown preference would return but that this would be delayed to 1 December 2020. We previously wrote about Crown preference in November 2018 when the Government first suggested its return. That post, which is available here, is a handy summary of what Crown preference is and its impact on secured creditors.

In yet another landmark decision in relation to the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of Jaypee Infratech Limited (JIL), the Supreme Court in Anuj Jain, Interim Resolution Professional for Jaypee Infratech Limited vs. Axis Bank Limited Etc. Etc. (Civil Appeal Nos. 8512-8527 of 2019) dated 26.02.2020, has laid down the law on two aspects: 

➢  the essential elements of a preferential transaction under Section 43 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (Code); and 

INTRODUCTION 

The Supreme Court has recently in its judgment dated 21 January 2020, in the case of Standard Chartered Bank v MSTC Limited [SLP (C) No 20093 of 2019], provided clarity on the interplay between the provisions of Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act 1993 (RDB Act) and Limitation Act 1963 (Limitation Act). Supreme Court has in doing so refused to condone a delay of 28 days in filing of a review application by the government borrower entity against a decree in favour of the bank.  

BRIEF BACKGROUND: 

In this week’s update: an update from the Parker Review on board ethnic diversity, the Investment Association sets out its 2020 priorities and a few other items.

2019 has been a busy year for restructuring specialists. Although the UK economy narrowly avoided a recession, a combination of continued domestic and international political uncertainty, decreased consumer confidence and challenging conditions in certain sectors has meant that a number of businesses have gone through restructurings and, in some high-profile cases, insolvency processes during the year.

The Indian Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) has seen several challenges in recent times. The Indian Government has been proactive in responding to these. In response to the recent set of challenges, the Government intends to implement another round of amendments to the IBC. The key takeaways from this proposed amendment are discussed below.

In this week’s update: The court finds that selfdealing by a director and a share buyback were void, the PERG report on compliance with the Walker Guidelines, the BVCA and EY review private equity portfolio company performance, the QCA reports on AIM company corporate governance and a few other items. 

Court confirms self-dealing by director was void

Being involved with a company which is experiencing financial difficulties is clearly a stressful experience for directors. As well as having to deal with the operational consequences of the company’s distress, directors must ensure that they comply with their duties and obligations under the Companies Act 2006 (CA2006) and the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA1986). Directors of listed entities are in a particularly difficult position, as in addition to those duties they must comply with their obligations to the markets.

Directors’ duties