On Wednesday, 13 September, the Economy and Fair Work Committee (the "Committee") of the Scottish Parliament heard evidence regarding the general principles of the Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Bill (the "Bill"). At this stage, the Committee is responsible for examining the Bill and making a recommendation about whether Parliament should support the main purpose of the Bill.

This series looks at the enforcement options available to creditors to recover sums due by a debtor in Scotland. In previous editions we looked at the remedies of Inhibition and Earnings Arrestment.

When seeking to recover arrears under a lease, it is often possible to act to recover funds without the need for a court order. If a lease has been registered for preservation and execution in the Books of Council and Session, a creditor can normally move to instruct Sheriff Officers to recover the funds. This procedure is known as summary diligence and can take several forms.

The increasing rates of insolvencies in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) following the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing at a high rate, and England and Wales have seen the highest rates of insolvencies since 2009. Compared with the second quarter of 2022, the total of registered company insolvencies has increased by 13%. Compared with the first quarter of 2023, the rate of insolvencies has increased by 9%.

In a challenging economic climate, we usually see an increase in leases ending prematurely, either by agreement or by landlords irritating (forfeiting) the lease when they are faced with an insolvent tenant or bad payers. Tenants in these circumstances will often leave behind goods and equipment. The temptation for landlords is just to throw the stuff away so they can re-let but there are restrictions on what a landlord can and can't do with abandoned goods in Scotland.

What should you do if a tenant leaves goods behind at the premises (tenant not insolvent)?

Five years after the collapse of construction company giant, Carillion PLC, its former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Zafar Khan has been disqualified from acting as a company director, or being concerned in its management, for 11 years. This is just 4 years short of the maximum period of 15 years, reflecting the seriousness of the allegations against him. The Insolvency Service accepted an undertaking from Mr Khan in settlement of its action against him.

Floating charges are common features of finance transactions both in Scotland and in England, and share some characteristics, but these securities have different origins (the Scottish floating charge is a creation of statute while the English floating charge derives from common law) and other key differences which we outline below.

There are many enforcement options available to commercial landlords in England & Wales, to recover rent arrears due under a lease from a business tenant. Some of those options are based in contract and governed by the terms of the individual lease itself, such as a power to forfeit or damages for breach, whilst some of those options are based in statute such as the Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery regime.

Modular construction has been heralded for several years now as a construction methodology that saves time, reduces waste and minimises cost. It is therefore unsurprising that modular construction forms part of the various "modern methods of construction" that are now being encouraged by the UK Government. Use of modular construction can range from isolated elements like bathroom pods to where the majority of the building is comprised of modules and is commonly encountered in housing, student accommodation and hotels.

What makes a charge a fixed or floating security and why is this distinction important? The characteristics of a floating charge are long-established, but how does a lender ensure that valuable capital assets, i.e. investment properties, stocks, and bonds, of a borrowing company, are subject to valid fixed charge security?