The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill was recently introduced into Parliament. While the effects of some of the changes proposed are intended to be only temporary, they have potential consequences for pension schemes.
Changes of particular relevance are as follows:
- Restrictions on the use of statutory demands for winding up petitions.
- New Moratorium process
- Court approved corporate restructuring plan
The Bill received its second and third readings on 3 June 2020 and will now go to the House of Lords for consideration.
This article follows the #HardwickeBrew on 28th May 2020 which looked at the Corporate Insolvency & Governance Bill. If you would like to take part in future #HardwickeBrews, please sign up via our Events page.
Introduction
- This note reviews the provisions relating to the moratorium procedure for Great Britain under the draft Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (“CIGB”).
CIGB
The government has published the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill which, if passed, will significantly restrict suppliers’ ability to exit commercial agreements due to restructuring or insolvency-related causes.
That the current pandemic has thrown a curveball at many businesses is a given.
At the end of February, the Bank of Scotland Business Barometer reported that overall business confidence in the UK was at a net balance of 23%. Only two months later and confidence plunged to minus 29%.
The government has introduced fundamental changes to the procedures for presenting winding-up petitions and making winding-up orders in the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Bill.
Re Debenhams Retail Limited (In Administration) [2020] EWCA Civ. 600
In these unprecedented times there has been much discussion and focus in the property community of the effect of tenants unable to operate their businesses and the risks of widescale insolvencies.
Re Debenhams Retail Limited [2020] EWHC 921 (Ch)
The Carluccio’s judgment provides some much-needed clarity on the interrelation of the Furlough Scheme and the requirements of insolvency legislation. It is to be commended for its clarity and for the fact that it had to construe the workings of the Furlough Scheme in the absence of any statutory guidance as to its implementation. It is to be hoped that, when the Government comes to enact the necessary legislative measures (including perhaps amendments to Schedule B1 and IR 2016), that it does so with this judgment very firmly in mind.
A recent Sheriff Court judgment is the latest decision to consider the role and remit of the court reporter in a liquidation which, unusually, involved the court appointing two reporters.
In Scotland, the Insolvency (Scotland) (Receivership and Winding Up) Rules 2018 provide that where there is no creditors committee, the remuneration of a liquidator shall be fixed by the court. In practice, the court appoints a reporter to examine and audit the liquidator’s accounts and to report on the amount of remuneration to be paid.
While in previous weeks the winding up petition list has been adjourned for a minimum of three months, this week’s list was successfully conducted by Skype. This article discusses how the hearings worked.