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On Friday 24 April, RPC hosted a 30 minute webinar on the interaction of furloughing and insolvency law.
During this session, our Insolvency Partner Paul Bagon discussed the recent High Court judgement involving Italian restaurant chain Carluccio's, which entered administration at the end of March.
When the Coronavirus Act 2020 (the "Act") received royal assent on 25 March 2020, commercial tenants across the country were afforded some relief.
On 28 March 2020 the Business Secretary announced further new far-reaching measures to help businesses combat the financial impact of COVID-19.
In a welcome intervention, the Business Secretary declared it was the government’s intention to suspend wrongful trading provisions and to introduce a moratorium for businesses undergoing a restructuring process. Both measures are intended to assist companies to trade through financial distress caused by the loss of business due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Concerns regarding the strength of UK supply chains and the consequences which arise when links in the chain fail, are not new and were recently subject to significant scrutiny in the context of Brexit negotiations. But with COVID-19 causing a host of new problems for already stressed supply chains, what can businesses do to protect themselves?
Lawyers have called for a break on winding-up petitions against retailers as they fail to pay creditors due to the outbreak. So far, retailers have been hit with 52 winding-up petitions since the beginning of the year, with the numbers accelerating since the coronavirus outbreak took hold, according to lawyers at RPC.
Such a move would give retailers breathing space as they try to mitigate the impact of coronavirus, but it would also hurt creditors including small suppliers.
The Government has launched a number of initiatives to assist companies and businesses to trade through the current financial stress. But what should directors still be aware of as they steer their organisations through these unprecedent times?
The Government has announced they will be relaxing the law for companies undergoing a rescue or restructure process, giving them breathing space that could help avoid insolvency.
COVID-19: On 28 March 2020 the Business Secretary announced further new far-reaching measures to help businesses combat the financial impact of COVID-19. What it the likely impact of the suspension of wrongful trading provisions and a moratorium for businesses in restructuring on your business?
Entrepreneurs’ Relief – review and reform
Entrepreneurs that sell their businesses have been able to take advantage of Entrepreneurs’ Relief since 2008. It currently allows individuals to pay only 10% Capital Gains Tax on all gains on the sale of qualifying assets up to a lifetime allowance of £10m.
The Conservative Manifesto said that ER would be subject to “review and reform”. There is increasing speculation that changes will be introduced at the Budget in March.
Representatives of a lender on a board will not automatically impose directors' duties on the lender, but they may apply where a director's specific instructions have led directly to a breach of fiduciary duty. The High Court recently explored this issue in an appeal in the case of Standish v Royal Bank of Scotland plc.(1)
Facts