We reported in September that New Look's CVA had been approved by creditors, including provision for 400 of its store rents to be linked to turnover - see https://blog.charlesrussellspeechlys.com/post/102gf9i/a-new-look-for-commercial-rents

However, it seems that the controversial CVA is now going to be challenged in the courts by a number of the landlord creditors, including British Land and Land Securities. This will obviously be unwelcome news for the retailer on top of the arrival of a second lockdown, which will inevitably cause further disruption for its business.

The damage that the COVID pandemic has done to the food and beverage sector has been widely reported. Plenty of well-known and well-loved restaurants and pubs have entered into an insolvency process or formally restructured their debts in an effort to survive.

This summer’s landmark Supreme Court decision in Michael J Lonsdale (Electrical) Ltd v Bresco Electrical Services Ltd (in Liquidation) [2020] UKSC 25 (“Bresco”) would have doubtless been interesting news for Insolvency Practitioners (“IPs”) engaged in the construction sector.

2020 has evolved in a way no-one could have predicted, and there is still much uncertainty as to what the future looks like (particularly as a result of Government stimulus payments and rent freezes varying or coming to an end, and newly announced insolvency law reforms that will affect businesses with liabilities of less than $1 million). While the outlook is not entirely pessimistic, suppliers should be preparing themselves for all scenarios.

Welcome to our latest edition of FMCG Express! 2020 continues to be an eventful year, although we are cautiously optimistic that we may be turning a corner in Australia. While COVID-19 continues to cast a shadow over our lives, our cities are starting to show green shoots of life, which is welcome news. Our thoughts are with our families, clients, associates, friends and colleagues in countries where numbers are at very concerning levels. In this edition, we have some useful COVID-19 reading. Siobhan Mulcahy considers the ongoing issues of JobKeeper with casual workers.

In the recent decision of Cant v Mad Brothers Earthmoving,[1] the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria (Justices Beach, McLeish and Hargrave) considered whether the liquidator of Eliana Construction and Developing Group (in liquidation) (Eliana) could establish that a payment made to an unsecured creditor of Eliana by one of Eliana’s related companies was an unfair preference.

The recent Federal Court decision of Scott v Southern Highlands Waste & Recycling Pty Ltd[1] provides liquidators with important guidance regarding the availability of search and seizure warrants under section 530C of the Corporations Act2001 (Cth) (the Corps Act).

In Caron and Seidlitz v Jahani and McInerney in their capacity as liquidators of Courtenay House Pty Ltd (in liq) & Courtenay House Capital Trading Group Pty Ltd (in liq) (No 2),[1] the New South Wales Court of Appeal was faced with what it described as the ‘classic insolvency conundrum’: how to distribute funds to investors as equally and as fairly as possible where the funds have

Following its decision in July to consider restructuring options in light of its mounting debts, the popular restaurant chain Pizza Hut has reached an agreement with its creditors by way of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) that will see 215 of its 244 restaurants (88%) continue trading, as well as retaining around 5,000 of its 5,450 employees (92%).

The recently announced proposed insolvency reforms draw on key features from Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States and aim to help more small businesses restructure and survive the economic impact of COVID-19.

The reforms will cover around 76% of businesses subject to insolvencies today, 98% of whom have less than 20 employees.[1]