The rapidly changing impact of COVID-19 on companies and the wider economy presents directors with the unenviable task of balancing the immediate need to secure the survival of their company against the longer-term implications for their stakeholders. In March, the UK Government announced that wrongful trading measures would be temporarily suspended to ease this pressure. The suspension measures are included in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020, which introduces both temporary measures, such as this, and permanent and significant changes to UK insolvency law.

On 19 June 2020, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted law (draft law No. 2284) aimed at introducing sweeping new changes to regulation of financial instruments (the Law). The Law has also paved the way for a wide range of new financial instruments such as derivatives, green bonds, loan notes, and other structured finance products.

The new UK Restructuring Plan

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act, which received Royal Assent on 25 June 2020, contains a range of significant reforms, not least of which is the introduction of a new Restructuring Plan process. Together with the sweeping changes that the Act has in its sights, the Restructuring Plan and associated changes are aimed at improving the tools for companies to be effectively and efficiently rescued.

Key takeaways

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 makes the most significant changes to UK insolvency law in a generation. It had a rapid passage through the UK parliamentary process, making its way from first publication on 20 May 2020 to Royal assent on 25 June 2020 in just over five weeks. This article provides a brief overview of the key measures introduced by the Act (both permanent and temporary) and summarises the amendments made to the Act during its progress through parliament. It also provides links to our further, more in-depth, analysis.

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 introduces a range of changes to UK insolvency law of a magnitude not seen since the reforms of the Enterprise Act 2002. One of the reforms included in the Act is a wide ranging prohibition on the operation of termination clauses in contracts for the supply of goods and/or services where the counterparty enters a relevant insolvency process.

What do the provisions do?

Under the new provisions, suppliers will be prevented from:

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 has introduced a new standalone moratorium procedure for companies.¹ The moratorium is part of a package of significant legislative reforms contained in the Act, intended to enhance the UK’s restructuring rescue culture. These were originally consulted on between 2016 and 2018 and were fast-tracked to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overview

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Federico Zucconi, partner del dipartimento Finance, Projects & Restructuring, analizza gli effetti della normativa di emergenza volta ad agevolare l’accesso a nuova finanza da parte delle imprese, evidenziando le zone d’ombra rimaste nella disciplina anche dopo la conversione in legge del Decreto Liquidità.

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill has been described as an “extraordinary Bill for extraordinary times” . First published on 20 May 2020, it has had a rapid passage through the UK parliamentary process, so it could become law (an Act of Parliament) by the end of June. At the time of writing, the Bill is almost at the end of its parliamentary journey with only one final stage outstanding - a return to the House of Commons for a consideration of amendments - before it is sent for Royal Assent and becomes law.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, a number of insolvency laws have been updated. Our guidance outlines what this means to businesses in 17 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

The Hungarian government submitted a bill to the Parliament on 12 June 2020 that introduces certain amendments to Act XLIX of 1991 on Bankruptcy and Liquidation Proceedings (Bankruptcy Act) with the effect of 1 August 2020.