Finance Bill 2016 includes provisions designed to prevent taxpayers converting profits generated in a company into a capital receipt in the hands of the shareholder(s). Taxpayers may want to consider winding-up their companies or making substantial dividend distributions ahead of 6 April 2016 as a result of these measures and the changes to the taxation of dividends.

Broadly, the intention is that a capital distribution made in the winding-up of a company will be taxed as income if:

Summary

The Insolvency (Amendment) Rules 2015 (the “2015 Rules”) came into force on 1 October 2015. They amended the 1986 Insolvency Rules to introduce a new approach to the approval and payment of insolvency office holders (“IOH”s)’ fees and disbursements.

The ADGM was established in Abu Dhabi in 2013. However, the ADGM has only recently (on 15 June 2015) published its first set of commercial rules and regulations for non-financial services (the Regulations) relating to companies, insolvency, employment and real property and strata title. It is also expected to publish regulations for financial services later this year. ADGM’s intentions are clear.

The Insolvency Service has published a call for evidence on collective redundancy consultation for employers facing insolvency. It is seeking evidence on issues including the role of directors and insolvency practitioners and the factors which inhibit effective consultation. The closing date for submissions is 12 June 2015.

In this case, the High Court held that the proceeds of the sale of timber and land under a timber plantation scheme were not held on trust for investors by the scheme operators, with the result that they were available to secured creditors of the scheme in priority to the investors.  In particular, the High Court found that a trust will not arise without clear intention by the parties, and a court will not infer a trust simply because it thinks it is an appropriate means of protecting or creating an interest.  When establishing a managed investment scheme, parties shou

Below are the 6 key points that you need to consider when health and safety issues arise following an appointment to an insolvent company.

1. What is the main legislation covering this area?

There are two distinct areas dealt with by detailed but separate legislation.

The hotels sector has suffered in the recession and as an asset class, hotels are capital intensive operations. They are also susceptible to volatile economic conditions, as consumer and corporate expenditure on hotels is generally viewed as a discretionary expense.

HMA structure

There are various ways in which the corporate ownership of a hotel can be structured. This note will concentrate on one of the most common structures in the hotel industry – the hotel management agreement (“HMA”).

Key points

Justice Black has confirmed in his written reasons for judgment in ReNexus Energy Ltd (subject to deed of company arrangement) [2014] NSWSC 1910 (Nexus) the utility of section 444GA to achieve debt for equity restructures of listed companies.

This case highlights that the fiduciary duty to avoid conflicts of interest in particular will be strictly adhered to, with questions of fairness or unfairness of the relevant transaction being irrelevant.  Directors are reminded of the need to take great care to manage potential risks when involved in transactions in which they are acting as director of more than one company.  In particular, directors should check the rules in the companies’ constitutions around conflict of interest and if there is any concern, disclose their interest and seek approval of the companie