With growing competition and global market uncertainties in recent years, businesses may experience operational and financial challenges, resulting in debt defaults. A creditor is entitled to petition for the bankruptcy and liquidate the debtor’s assets in order to try to achieve a maximum recovery. Statistics published by the Official Receiver’s Office noted 7,062 petitions for compulsory liquidation and bankruptcy between January and October 2019. In this client alert, we discuss two significant and recent judgments in respect of insolvency law given by the Hong Kong* courts.

Proposed changes in Italian law mean that it should become easier to create certain types of security in Italy and to recover debt. The relevant law is Decree-law no. 59/2016 (“Urgent provisions on insolvency and executive procedures’’) which came into force on 4 May 2016 and which should be converted into binding law by early July.

The main changes introduced by the Decree are as follows:

RESTRUCTURING - COURT PROCEDURES

Formal, court-driven restructuring proceedings are available into Luxembourg law, but for practical reasons, these are rarely used in practice.

Reprieve from payment procedure (sursis de paiement)

INTRODUCTION

Luxembourg is one of the leading domiciles worldwide for international investment vehicles. This leading position has arisen from the combination of the following core factors:

IMMOVABLES

There are two principal insolvency procedures by which a lender can bring about the realisation of a property in Jersey, namely dégrèvement and désastre. 

A debtor who fears that his property is going to be taken for his creditors either by way of a dégrèvement or by way of a désastre can apply to the Royal Court for a "Remise de Biens".  A remise grants a debtor time to get his affairs in order and effect an orderly sale of all or some of his property thereby enabling him to retain that which he can afford.

This case considers the ability of the Court to ensure that similarly ranked creditors of a debtor are treated equally prior to the commencement of any insolvency procedure including a just and equitable winding up application.

Background

Mr Breifne O'Brien lives in Ireland. In 2008 and 2009 a number of creditors in that jurisdiction obtained judgments against him in the Irish High Court. The Irish Court injuncted Mr O'Brien from dealing with his assets within or without the jurisdiction below €20,000 million.

The facts:

An application had been made by Bank of Scotland Plc and the Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland (the Applicants) for a letter of request to be sent by the Royal Court of Jersey to the High Court of England and Wales in respect of four Jersey companies which were ultimate beneficial owners of English real estate.  

As well as issuing claims in mistake and restitution in the BVI Commercial Court and the US State Supreme Court, the liquidators of Fairfield Sentry Limited (“the Fund”) also petitioned for and, on 22 July 2010 obtained, Chapter 15 recognition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The First Creditor Driven Schemes

The Commercial Court has very recently sanctioned four schemes of arrangement pursuant to section 179A of the BVI Business Companies Act 2004. These were the first two creditor-driven schemes to be proposed and sanctioned in the BVI. There has been one other scheme proposed and sanctioned in the BVI but this was a member’s scheme and was altogether more straightforward. Ogier BVI was instructed in relation to all four schemes.

The First Scheme

There has been a considerable amount of interest from clients recently on putting Jersey companies holding UK real property and other assets into English administration. Where a Jersey company and its creditors intend to rescue the company as a going concern, or English administration would achieve a better realisation for creditors than a désastre or a winding up, it may be advantageous to commence English administration.