On 8 October the Insolvency Service published a report on pre-pack sales in administrations, together with draft regulations imposing a mandatory referral to independent scrutiny in the case of pre-packaged sales to connected parties.
This article, written by Tim Carter and Helen Martin, considers the background to the proposed regulations, their content and their potential impact.
Background
Perseverance, dear my lord Keeps honour bright: to have done, is to hang Quite out of fashion, like a rusty mail In monumental mockery William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida
Styles & Wood (In Administration) v GE CIF Trustees (unreported) (County Court at Central London)
On 29 September 2020 the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Extension of the Relevant Period) Regulations 2020 came into force. To keep this snippy, we’ll refer to these new Regulations as “CIGAR”.
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (the Act) received royal assent on 25 June 2020 and is now in force.
On 4 September 2020, the High Court sanctioned a restructuring plan of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited (Virgin) under the new Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006, brought in by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA); this is the first time the court has sanctioned a restructuring plan under the new Part 26A.
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (the Act) received royal assent on 25 June 2020 and is now in force, bringing with it significant changes to the insolvency world and the operation of the construction industry.
The current COVID-19 pandemic has placed many companies registered in England and Wales into a position where they are now either balance sheet or cash flow insolvency or both. The loss of these companies to the economy would be catastrophic and, as a result, the UK Government started the Bill’s passage through parliament on 3 June 2020.
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 completed ‘ping pong’ in the House of Commons on the afternoon of 25 June 2020, received Royal Assent at 18:08 the same night and took eff ect the following day, 26 June 2020.
At 254 pages, it covers a lot more than just statutory demands and winding-up petitions, including a new company moratorium procedure, but for property folk the immediate impact is that it eff ectively removes the statutory demand/winding-up route against defaulting tenants until at least 30 September.
Assuming the Pizza Express company voluntary arrangement (CVA) follows the approach taken by other casual diners and retailers who have also launched CVAs recently, we can predict with some confidence what the Pizza Express CVA proposal might say.
The recent High Court decision in Hellard & Anor v Registrar of Companies & Ors [2020] EWHC 1561 (Ch) (23 June 2020) serves as a useful reminder to any party seeking the restoration of a company to the Register of Companies that it is important first to consider whether such party has the requisite standing to make the application.
The tragically unforeseen current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to all aspects of Hong Kong society including the health of its citizens, the economy and the business community. Economic activities across most sectors globally are being devastated. The dire economic situation in Hong Kong has been exacerbated by the trade war between Washington and Beijing and the new national security law.