Frost & Sullivan has recently predicted that 4% of all sales (the equivalent of 4.5million units) of new cars will be online purchases by 2020. This compares to 5,000 new cars sold solely online in 2011. An implication of this, should they wish to avoid a similar fate to the likes of HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster, is that car retailers are going to have to make adjustments to their selling processes in order to avoid showrooms becoming mere browsing opportunities for customers to pick and chose but purchase online.

Empty units, falling yields and the spectre of tenant defaults are increasingly common issues that landlords have had to face in the current recession. To add to this landlords have also had to confront a number of high profile CVAs including JJB Sports (twice), Blacks Leisure, Stylo Group, Focus DIY, Fitness First and Travelodge to name a few.

You are about to enter a new dimension. A world not only of law and of the Insolvency Act 1986, but of equity. You are about to enter… The Twilight Trust Zone!

Cash-flow is the life blood of a company. As a company fails the flow of this vital sustenance grows weaker. The heart stutters and fails. The company is dying. Worse, it is unable to meet its liabilities as they fall due, and so fails one of the statutory tests of insolvency.

Introduction

In the recent High Court decision in Bilta (UK) Ltd (In liquidation) and others v Nazir and others [2012] EWHC (Ch), the court considered the application of the legal doctrine of ‘ex turpi causa non oritur actio’ in the context of fraud.

The issues concerning validity of appointment, which arose following the decision in Minmar Limited v Khalastchi have been considered in a number of recent cases, most recently BXL Services Limited [2012] EWHC 1877 (Ch).

In these parlous economic times, more businesses are facing increased financial pressure, resulting in periods of stressful trading. In such cases, consideration needs to be given to the development of a sound strategy that allows the company to successfully continue to trade and pay its creditors.

The purpose of this article is to address some of the “tools” available to assist directors in the restructuring of a company.

The new Insolvency rules which came into force on 23rd February 2012 provide that when presenting a Petition, the Petitioning Creditor must now conduct an initial search to ascertain whether any other petitions have been presented against the debtor within the previous 18 months.

As the prospects for business survival become ever tougher due to challenging economic conditions, administrators and liquidators are increasingly finding themselves having to justify to the courts whether or not costs should be treated as an expense of the administration or liquidation.

Sums incurred or paid as an expense of an administration or liquidation are, unlike debts incurred before the appointment of the administrator or liquidator, paid in preference to unsecured debts and also before the administrator or liquidator's fees and expenses.

Leisure Norwich (2) Ltd & Others v Luminar Lava Ignite Limited & Others - [2012] EWHC 951(Ch). Incurring liabilities to third parties is often necessary in order to carry out an effective administration of an insolvent company.

The UK Supreme Court's decision in Re Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (In Administration) caps the extensive litigation which developed in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (Lehman Brothers) almost four years ago.

It all began on 15 September 2008 when Lehman Brothers went into administration following what the Courts have referred to as its performance failures on 'a truly spectacular scale', foremost of which was the failure to protect its clients' monies.