The EU Commission has presented a draft directive on the mandatory inclusion of a "pre-pack proceeding" in national insolvency laws.
On 7 December 2022, the European Commission published a draft directive harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law with the aim of facilitating distressed M&A by reducing legal uncertainties in cross-border transactions.
Managing the financial health of a business to ensure it continues to be viable and successful can be challenging, particularly in today’s economic environment.
June 2023
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Official Receiver v Kelly (Re Walmley Ash Ltd and Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986) [2023] EWHC 1181 (Ch) deals with an application for a disqualification order under s 6 Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 against Andrew John Kelly arising out of his conduct as a director of Walmsley Ash Ltd which was wound up by the court on an HMRC petition in 2017. The conduct relied on was that:
Investing in or acquiring distressed assets can be a lucrative investment strategy for those with a healthy risk appetite and a roadmap for sourcing and evaluating quality assets.
Following a steep run-up in crypto asset prices and valuations of crypto-adjacent businesses in the last two years, there has been a sharp increase in companies and assets in the space looking at deeply distressed valuations, liquidity crunches or formal insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings.
The enforcement of court orders that are designed to preserve, trace or track crypto-assets within North America is often limited in practice. As seen in the recent Ontario decision of Cicada 137 LLC v. Medjedovic (“Cicada”),[1] mechanisms by which legal enforcement principles can be effectively applied against stolen or misappropriated crypto-assets are constrained.
Currently, the British Virgin Islands has no legislative framework for regulating third party litigation funding. Until recently, the absence of such a framework led many to believe that the rules against maintenance and champerty still operated so as in practice to prevent litigants from raising funds from third parties to prosecute or to defend claims. In Crumpler v Exential Investments Inc (BVIHC(COM) 2020/0081; 29 September 2020) Jack J clarified that third party funding arrangements were enforceable in the BVI.
“How did you go bankrupt?
“Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”
- Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
Whether from internal or external factors, every company at some point will experience financial stress. The key to avoiding the extreme zone of financial distress—insolvency and “suddenly” bankruptcy—is to be proactive early on—when financial challenges are progressing “gradually.”
Morgan Heavener, Darren Mullins and Paul Wright, Accuracy
This is an extract from the 2023 edition of GIR's Europe, Middle East and Africa Investigations Review. The whole publication is available here.
In a recent decision, Anchorage Capital Master Offshore Ltd v Sparkes [2023] NSWCA 88, lenders to the Arrium Group, a company that collapsed, have lost their appeal regarding the personal liability of the Chief Financial Officer and Group Treasurer. The NSW Supreme Court had previously dismissed the lenders' claims, and the Court of Appeal has now affirmed that decision.
A recent Alberta case continues the development of a line of cases at the intersection of environmental protection and bankruptcy and insolvency law in Canada.