The English High Court has for the first time directly addressed the question of the extra-territorial application of s233 of the Insolvency Act 1986. The Official Receiver as Liquidator of Sahaviriya Streel Industries UK Ltd sought an order to restore access to an IT system provided to the Company by its parent company in Thailand. In granting permission to the Official Receiver to serve the application out of the jurisdiction, the Court was persuaded by the reasoning in the recent cases of Jetivia and Re Paramount Airways which concerned other provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986.

The joint liquidators of Peak Hotels & Resorts Limited ("Peak") brought an unsuccessful appeal that a legal charge held over funds paid into court ("Funds") was incapable of enforcement. The court dismissed the appeal on the basis that Peak did retain a proprietary interest over the funds.

British department store House of Fraser have announced plans to close 31 stores across the UK, placing thousands of jobs at risk. Proposals have been filed for Company Voluntary Arrangements ("CVA") of House of Fraser (Stores) Ltd and House of Fraser Ltd which it claimed are central to the significant restructuring of the business.

In May, it was announced that the parent group of House of Fraser would sell a 51% stake to the Chinese owner of Hamleys, C.Banner International, who would inject £70 million into the business.

There is more trouble for the British High Street as Toys R Us and Maplins have both entered Administration. Toys R Us' remaining stores are due to close once stock is sold as the Administrators have been unable to find a buyer. Maplins' stores remain open for now and the Administrators are still looking to secure a buyer, but so far have been unsuccessful. New Look has announced it will be closing 60 stores, and Carpetright has announced plans to close poorly performing stores.

The Swiss government presented a draft bill in May 2017 which was approved by the Swiss Council of States in December 2017 with very few amendments. The revised law could be effective as from 1 January 2019 if the Swiss National Council approves the revision this year.

Key changes include:

Daniel Maurice Wagner -v- Benjamin Vincent St John White [2016] WL 10574979

Tech entrepreneur Ben White has successfully defended Dan Wagner's application to set aside a Statutory Demand in relation to Mr White's £2m investment in Powa Technologies PLC ("Powa"). Ashfords advised Ben White, with Joe Curl acting as counsel.

The Facts

The Australian mining supplier Emeco Holdings Limited ("Emeco") originally filed Chapter 15 proceedings on 11 February 2016. Emeco was looking to complete a significant restructure involving a three way merger and refinancing and debt for equity swaps of around A$680 million. Following creditor approval of the scheme of arrangement, Emeco surfaced from the Chapter 15 proceedings on 7 June 2017.

The rules relating to income payment orders ("IPO") and income payment agreements ("IPA") are largely unchanged. The time periods dictated in the old rules for IPOs and IPAs remain the same, however there are some added requirements in the new rules, particularly in relation to the contents of notices and orders.

Rule 10.109 Application for income payments order (section 310)

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(4) the notice to the bankrupt must be authenticated and dated by the trustee.

Rule 10.110 Order for income payments order

Disclaimer - Rules 19.1 - 19.11

The Rules relating to Disclaimer remain largely unchanged, except for bankruptcy and liquidation being included in the same section and some minor updates to the Act. The deadlines for all actions remain unchanged.

19.8 - Application for permission to disclaim in bankruptcy (section 315(4))

The notes in this section refer to changes within the Act as amended by the Deregulation Act 2015 and the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.

ENEFI Energiahatékonysági Nyrt v Directia Generala Regionala a Finantelor Publice Brasov (DGRFP) [2016] All ER (D) 110 (Nov)

The Court of Justice of the European Union ("ECJ") has handed down a notable judgment in the case of ENEFI Energiahatékonysági Nyrt v Directia Generala Regionala a Finantelor Publice Brasov (DGRFP) [2016] All ER (D) 110 (Nov), ruling that domestic laws governing forfeiture of a claim in insolvency proceedings apply to foreign creditors too.