As the dust begins to settle after the EU referendum and the potential ramifications of Brexit continue to be digested, we examine the potential impact of Brexit on the UK cross-border restructuring and insolvency regime and its consequences for the UK’s reputation as a leading creditor-friendly restructuring jurisdiction.

A recent decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal (handed down on 14 July 2016) highlights a number of areas in which conflicts can arise in a commercial transaction involving multiple secured parties and the extent to which the interests of lower-ranked secured parties need to be considered when the proceeds are dealt with.

The case - Nom de Plume

Summary

The High Court recently handed down the judgment in Ralls Builders Ltd (In Liquidation), Re [2016] EWHC 1812 (Ch). It was held that liquidators and administrators are not able to recover their own costs and expenses of investigating a wrongful trading claim from the directors of a company, even following a finding of wrongful trading under section 214 Insolvency Act 1986.

Background

On 27 July 2016, the Board of the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority (“FSA”) analysed the status of the Romanian insurance undertaking Carpatica Asig SA, considering several audit and assessment reports. The outcome of the FSA analysis was the commencement of the bankruptcy procedures against Carpatica Asig SA.

Proposed amendments to the Recovery and Restructuring of Credit Institutions and Investment Intermediaries Act, effective as of 14 August 2015 (“Recovery and Restructurings Act”) provide that stress tests should be carried out for insurers and reinsurers. If approved by the Parliament, the changes will necessitate the organising and performing of stress tests for insurers and reinsurers within a tight timeframe, by the end of 2016.

Draft Law No. 3555 “On Financial Restructuring” (the “Restructuring Law”) aimed at creating effective mechanisms for voluntary financial restructuring of Ukrainian companies’ debts (the “Voluntary Restructuring”). The Restructuring Law is adopted as a temporary measure and will be in effect for three years. The Government expects that the Restructuring Law will result in reducing the amount of bad loans and restoring bank lending.

The main novelties of the Restructuring Law are as follows:

On 23 February 2016, Justice Brereton in the New South Wales Supreme Court handed down the decision in the matter ofIndependent Contractor Services (Aust) Pty Ltd ACN 119 186 971 (in liquidation) (No 2) [2016] NSWSC 106.

This is an important judgment, with significant consequences for the insolvency community.

The decision deals with two fundamental aspects of insolvency law, being:

1. Applicable Law

1.1.1 Interim measures in Scotland are governed partly by court procedure rules and partly by statutory provisions. The relevant court procedures are determined by:   

• the nature of the interim measure sought; and
• the court from which the interim measure is sought.

1.1.2 There are two levels of court which may grant interim measures in civil proceedings, namely:   

In December 2015, the Department of Housing and Public Works Queensland released a discussion paper seeking feedback on the issue of security of payment in the building and construction industry.  The paper seeks feedback from the widest possible cross section of the building and construction industry on the following identified issues:

Whilst there is evidence that, especially in the retail market, the number of store closures and resulting empty units is at its lowest level since a peak in 2012, high profile announcements such as that of BHS mean that they are still a reality. The Court has, with this decision, provided a timely reminder of the principles of surrender by operation of law of which landlords, tenants and guarantors should be mindful.

Summary