Introduction
In December 2025, the Supreme Court of Queensland delivered a judgement which probably hasn’t received the attention it deserves. In Star Recruitment Service Pty Ltd v Smith [2025] QSC 334 the court considered the proper construction of the coronavirus-era safe harbour defence in s 588GAAA of theCorporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act).
In Webb and another (as liquidators of Eversholt Rail (365) Limited (in liquidation)) v Eversholt Rail Limited and another [2026] EWHC 101 (Ch), the High Court dismissed the liquidators’ appeal against a decision not to allow their extensive application for the production of documents under s.235 and s.236 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). The application had sought to reconstitute a special purpose company’s full corporate knowledge in circumstances where it had held no documents of its own.
Introduction
This legal guide summarises the key differences between a ‘voluntary strike off’ and a ‘voluntary winding up’ under the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 (Companies Law). Both procedures bring a company’s existence to an end, but they differ in purpose, process, timing, cost and risk. This legal guide is designed to help clients determine the most appropriate route based on their circumstances.
Voluntary strike off
Under § 547(b) of the Bankruptcy Code (emphasis added):
- “the trustee may, based on reasonable due diligence in the circumstances of the case and taking into account a party’s known or reasonably knowable affirmative defenses under subsection (c), avoid [a preferential transfer.”
Question: What amount of detail is required in a preference complaint to satisfy the above-quoted “reasonable due diligence” requirement?
Executive Summary
Introduction
Aerovias del Continente Americano SA Avianca & Ors v Versilia Solutions Ltd [2026] EWHC 282 (Ch) covers well trodden ground on the limits to the powers of a provisional liquidator and how, in certain circumstances, they can be overcome, in this case by seeking ratification of the sale of the company’s assets.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”) which came into force on December 1, 2016, marked a decisive shift in India’s approach to insolvency and its resolution.