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.

Introduction

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.

In late 2015, the High Court handed down its decision in Commissioner of Taxation v Australian Building Systems Pty Ltd (in liq) [2015] HCA 48. The High Court held (by a majority of 3:2) that, in the absence of an assessment, a liquidator is not required to retain funds from asset sale proceeds in order to meet a tax liability which could become payable as a result of a capital gain made on the sale. In doing so, the majority of the High Court affirmed the decision of the Full Federal Court and provided long awaited guidance to liquidators, receivers and administrators.

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.

On 28 March 2017, the Australian Government announced its proposals to reform the law relating to insolvent trading, and the right to terminate contracts based on insolvency ('ipso facto clauses'). MinterEllison made a detailed submission on the proposals which can be found here.