Statutory demands in the British Virgin Islands have long been a useful option for creditors of defaulting companies. Properly utilised, they either secure payment of the outstanding debt or provide the creditor with the benefit of a statutory presumption of insolvency to assist in their application to appoint a liquidator over the company.

In a recent Supreme Court of Victoria decision[1] in which we acted for the successful liquidators, the Court made various orders to enable the company to complete an ultra-efficient, streamlined second voluntary administration to expedite creditor consideration of a new DOCA proposal.

Key points

The recent Federal Court decision in Diversa Pty Ltd v Taiping Trustees Limited has highlighted some important risks faced by secured parties who don’t pay attention to the details when perfecting, and maintaining perfection of, their security.

The recent Federal Court decision in Diversa Pty Ltd v Taiping Trustees Limited has highlighted some important risks faced by secured parties who don’t pay attention to the details when perfecting, and maintaining perfection of, their security. Those risks include:

This briefing note focuses on the solvent liquidation of non-regulated BVI companies.

The voluntary liquidation of a solvent BVI company is regulated by the BVI Business Companies Act, as amended (BCA). The BCA applies to all companies that have been incorporated, re-registered (whether voluntarily or automatically) or continued as BVI companies under the BCA.

Abstract

This Spring will see the introduction of a number of landmark developments in Jersey’s statutory insolvency regimes, which will further solidify Jersey’s reputation as a leading offshore location for businesses.

Following a consultation process by government, the Jersey legislature has now approved a number of important changes to the corporate insolvency regimes under the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 (the “CJL”).

On 21 October 2021, the Cayman Islands' legislature gazetted the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2021 (Bill) which introduced a new corporate restructuring process in the Cayman Islands (Cayman). The Bill represents a welcome development to the restructuring regime in the Cayman Islands and once again fortifies the Cayman Islands' standing reputation as a leading offshore financial hub and a popular destination for foreign investment opportunities.

Morton as Liquidator of MJ Woodman Electrical Contractors Pty Ltd v Metal Manufacturers Pty Limited [2021] FCAFC 228.

In a resounding judgment delivered last week, the Full Federal Court has confirmed that a statutory set-off under section 533C is not available to a defendant in unfair preference proceedings.

Key Takeaways

This briefing note explains the distinction between the concepts of dividends and distributions before setting out the main steps involved in paying out dividends and distributions under The Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 as amended (the “Companies Law”).

The Australian Sawmilling Co Pty Ltd (in liq) v Environment Protection Authority [2021] VSCA 294

The Victorian Court of Appeal’s decision in The Australian Sawmilling Co Pty Ltd (in liq) v Environment Protection Authority [2021] VSCA 294 casts significant doubt on liquidators’ capacity to rely upon section 568 of the Corporations Act to disclaim environmental liabilities, despite the absence of any involvement of the liquidator in the creation of those liabilities.