RESTRUCTURING FOCUS ON 2019
JANUARY 2019
RESTRUCTURING: FOCUS ON 2019
CONTENTS
1
VIEW FROM THE TOP NEW MONEY CONSIDERATIONS SOMETHING FOR ALL INVESTORS? THE INTERCREDITOR MINEFIELD LESSONS FROM CLAIRE'S STORES GOVERNANCE THE SPECTRUM OF OPTIONS CHAPTER 11 FOR THE UK? BREXIT AND UK INSOLVENCY REFORM EU INSOLVENCY REFORM: A CHANGING LANDSCAPE INDEPENDENT RECOGNITION WEIL CONTACTS
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 17
2 RESTRUCTURING: FOCUS ON 2019
VIEW FROM THE TOP
RESTRUCTURING: FOCUS ON 2019
3
The Irish Government is planning to take measures in the areas of settlement finality, insurance, and insurance distribution in the event of a 'no-deal Brexit'. The relevant measures are set out in Parts 7 and 8 of the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2019 (the “Withdrawal Bill”), which was published on 22 February 2019. These measures are in addition to a number of measures already taken at EU level.
Settlement Finality
How would your business be impacted if one of your critical suppliers entered insolvency proceedings? What losses could you suffer, and how would you maintain continuity of supply?
Recent high profile collapses such as Carillion have highlighted this issue, with counterparties suffering significant disruption upon its failure. In the context of increasing financial uncertainty – not least because of Brexit – companies should take a hard look at their supply chain in order to assess and mitigate counterparty risk.
Goodbye 2018 and hello 2019! It is that time of year to take stock and review your cash flow for 2019.
At the beginning of a new year it is customary to consider what the year ahead may bring. 2019 promises to be eventful not least with the UK's (planned) exit from the EU on 29 March 2019. Here's what to look out for in the next 12 months…
Brexit
All three institutions of the European Union have now approved the EU Preventive Restructuring Framework Directive. This is the EU's first attempt to "harmonise" insolvency laws across the Member States, that have disparate existing legislation. What does the Directive do and what will be its effect in practice?
The Directive
On 13 September 2018 the Government issued guidance relating to civil legal cases and insolvency cases where there was a ‘no deal’ scenario: ‘Handling civil legal cases that involve EU countries if there’s no Brexit deal’ (I shall refer to this as the “Notice” in this article).
Certainty is a key element in any business planning. For corporate restructuring practitioners who are planning or working on cross border transactions, the uncertainty relating to Brexit and the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union ("EU") may have long-term significant consequences and a "no-deal" Brexit (without a withdrawal agreement and the certainty of a transition period) will have immediate and significant consequences for any such cross-border transaction.
Certainty is a key element in any business planning. For corporate restructuring practitioners who are planning or working on cross border transactions, the uncertainty relating to Brexit and the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union (“EU”) may have long-term significant consequences and a “no-deal” Brexit (without a withdrawal agreement and the certainty of a transition period) will have immediate and significant consequences for any such cross-border transaction.
Although they disagree about the severity, economists and market watchers generally agree that the U.S. economy is headed for a slow-down. According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis, industrial production and retail sales are at all-time highs, exceeding levels seen before the 2008 recession. Unemployment rates are at the lowest levels since November 2000. So why the gloomy predictions for 2019 and beyond? Historically, retail sales, industrial production and employment are at their peaks right before a recession.