One of the first questions we are often asked by buyers in distressed M&A situations is what is the likely quantum of employee liabilities? It is not uncommon for buyers to want to restructure the workforce post-completion and early engagement on this issue is key.

Transaction structure and its impact on employment

2019 was for many a year of waiting…we waited, and waited and indeed still wait…for Brexit. That inevitably has had an impact on the property world and in particular the investment market experiencing a degree of inactivity. Somewhat ironically though Brexit has given us one of several important decisions in 2019 relevant to the Real Estate Disputes world.

Although the EU Insolvency Regulation and the UNCITRAL Model Law have been with us for some time, decisions involving the court’s recognition of foreign proceedings continue to evolve and will – of necessity – turn on the specific facts of every case. We investigate two recent decisions which came up with very different results.

The background – Re OGX Petroloeo E Gas S.A. [2016] EWHC 25

The past few months have seen some interesting developments in legislative and regulatory requirements in the restructuring and insolvency world. We explore a number of them in this article.

SBEEA – reports on director conduct from 6 April

The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (Commencement No 4), Transitional and Savings Provisions Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/321) were made on 9 March 2016.

This article provides snapshot of some of the more incidental goings-on of which we believe practitioners should be aware. Amongst other things, it covers developments in the reform of the EC Regulation, the consultation on the new-look SIP 16, and the Comet decision on the extent of the court’s S.236 powers.

EU Council adopts agreement on EC Insolvency Regulation reforms

First in the lineup, the Council of the EU agreed a compromise agreement with the EU Parliament on the proposed amendments to the EC Insolvency Regulation (Reg EC 1346/2000).

This quarter has seen a wave of legislative and regulatory reform on the way. We review some of the more significant developments.

Insolvency exemption to the Jackson reforms extended indefinitely

This update focusses on the recent Supreme Court decision in Re Lehman Brothers International (Europe) concerning the application of the “contributory rule” in administration and the admissibility and set-off of contingent claims in administration

Lehmans and the contributory rule

We take a look at the reforms to the EC Insolvency Regulation in light of the European Parliament’s 4 February vote on the committee of legal affairs’ report on the proposed reforms.

The background

This update focusses upon two recent High Court decisions dealing with (respectively) the ability of the court to retrospectively extend court-appointed receiverships, and the issue of whether COMI had shifted to England for a German national seeking bankruptcy here.

Extension of court-appointed receiverships

The case of Bank of Ireland v (1) Edeneast (2) Cosgrove and (3) Maguire (17/09/2013) concerned an application by the bank to retrospectively continue and extend the appointment of a courtappointed receiver.

Preamble

Most if not all of our readers will be aware of a recent spate of decisions in which the English courts have been prepared to sanction schemes of arrangements (SofAs) for foreign entities having a “sufficient connection” with England and Wales. The latest decisions in Re Magyar Telecom B.V. (03/12/2013) show just how flexible the English courts can be in finding such a connection.

The background