The Facts
A case of two companies, one incorporated in Dubai and the other in England, involved in a network of businesses producing contrived fancy colour diamond valuations were eventually wound up by English courts in the interest of the public.
[Note: deemed consent cannot be used to decide on remuneration, or where the Act/Rules requires a decision by a decision procedure.]
The Deemed Consent procedure is set out in sections 246ZF (corporate insolvency) and 379ZB (personal insolvency) of the Insolvency Act 1986, as inserted by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, and rule 15.7 of the Insolvency Rules 2016.
The deemed consent procedure is that relevant creditors/contributories are given notice:
The language of the rules has been amended and there is now more reference to delivery of documents rather than service. Rules 1.40 - 1.53 set out rules relating to delivery wherever documents are required to be delivered by the new rules.
These rules include the following headings:
It is an unfortunate reality that many farming businesses are operating at their limits and are struggling financially. There are several aspects of the insolvency law that should be borne in mind should you run your farm through a limited company that begins to face financial difficulty.
Directors' Duties
Directors' duties under the Companies Act:
The English Court refused an application by Liquidators to stay English proceedings pending the outcome of similar proceedings in the US.
The Joint Liquidators of a Luxembourg company ("the Company") applied to stay English proceedings that they had brought against private equity investors ("the Defendants") until similar proceedings in the US had been resolved, or for three months to enable the Liquidators to raise finance for the litigation.
Nearly a third (30%) of South West retailers are at heightened risk of insolvency in the next 12 months, according to research by R3, the insolvency trade body. This is an increase of 5.5 percentage points on the same time last year.
These figures are higher than the cross-sector percentage of businesses in the South West at higher than normal risk (26.5%). However, it is below the UK average insolvency risk for the retail sector (30.8%).
Alan Bennett, Chair of R3 in the South West and Partner at Ashfords LLP, comments:
Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: Connor Pierce, solicitor at Ashfords LLP, examines a High Court judge’s dismissal of an appeal against a deputy registrar’s refusal to set aside a statutory demand made on the appellant, which was based on a personal guarantee he had given the respondent.
Wagner v White [2018] EWHC 2882 (Ch), [2018] All ER (D) 16 (Nov)
What are the practical implications of this case?
The case is a useful authority for statutory demands founded on personal guarantees.
The Facts
Conviviality, the company that owns Bargain Booze, Wine Rack and acts as supplier to Wetherspoons, Slug & Lettuce and many others, entered Administration on 4 April. The company's collapse was sudden and unexpected - as late as 8 March its stock market value was over £550 million, but its share price fell from 301p to 123p in less than 24 hours. This wiped £300 million off the company's value, a drop from which it never recovered.