The new Insolvency Practice Direction came into force on 25 April 2018. Some of the key changes to the Practice Direction include:
British department store House of Fraser have announced plans to close 31 stores across the UK, placing thousands of jobs at risk. Proposals have been filed for Company Voluntary Arrangements ("CVA") of House of Fraser (Stores) Ltd and House of Fraser Ltd which it claimed are central to the significant restructuring of the business.
In May, it was announced that the parent group of House of Fraser would sell a 51% stake to the Chinese owner of Hamleys, C.Banner International, who would inject £70 million into the business.
The Facts
The case concerned an application made by the Liquidators of a BVI incorporated company, Peak Hotels and Resorts Limited ("Peak"). The application was intended to determine the effectiveness of a charge granted by Peak to Candey Limited, Peak's former solicitor.
Peak was the holding company of a joint venture vehicle that became the subject of lengthy international litigation proceedings following the breakdown of relations between the joint venture partners and shareholders. Candey acted for peak in the litigation.
Background
Avanti Communications Group PLC ("Avanti") are a satellite operator headquartered in London, with subsidiaries across Europe and Africa, providing fixed satellite services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Avanti had issued Senior Secured Notes maturing in 2021 and 2023 and had borrowed under a senior term loan. Due to delays associated with two of Avanti's satellites, Avanti experienced financial difficulties, with a materially over-leveraged capital structure.
David Pomeroy, partner and head of the restructuring and insolvency team at Bristol law firm Ashfords, shares his thoughts on how the city's high streets will need to evolve in order to survive
Every week we see a report of another major high street retailer on the brink. Mothercare is the latest to announce restructure plans and RBS has announced the closure of many of its high street branches, including Clifton.
They follow hot on the heels of brand names such as Jamie’s Italian, Maplin, Toys R Us, Byron, Prezzo and New Look closing or scaling back.
Cambridge Analytica, the data analytics firm at the centre of the Facebook data scandal, is closing its doors and commencing insolvency proceedings. The company has been unable to recover from the bad press coverage and large legal fees in dealing with the aftermath of the Facebook data breach allegations.
The Facts
Mr Reynard, a bankrupt, made an claim against his Trustee, Mr Fox. Mr Reynard acted in person at all times and issued proceedings at the county court money claims centre for breach of contract and negligence, asserting that his Trustee had failed to assess potential claims properly and had incorrectly valued the claims, and therefore had failed to take action.
The Facts
This was an appeal of a decision of Chief Registrar Baister.
Dean and Richard Robbins were directors of a company which entered Creditors Voluntary Liquidation in February 2011. Dean Robbins was the sole shareholder. It appears that the Company had somewhat basic accounting practices and did not keep detailed books and records. It transpired that, prior to entering Liquidation, the Company had paid substantial sums to the Directors in various instalments, which the Liquidators sought to recover under three separate claims.
The New York movie studio co-founded by film producer Harvey Weinstein has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The bankruptcy was intended to facilitate a buy-out offer from Lantern Capital, a private equity firm, to purchase the assets of the company, including the rights to the show "Project Runway", as well as "Django Unchained" and approximately 275 other films. Lantern Capital had offered $225 million which it believed was the studio's debts. However the sale collapsed when Lantern Capital discovered the studio had an additional $55 million - $65 million in debt.
The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee has endorsed the passing of the Bankruptcy Amendment (Enterprise Incentives) Bill 2017 in its report dated 21 March 2018.
The Bill will align the bankruptcy period in Australia with the United Kingdom. Under the Bankruptcy Act 1996, the period of bankruptcy (unless a successful objection is made) is three years. If passed, the Bill will reduce the period to one year.
Key points to note are that: