A business you are buying or selling, if reorganised for sale, may be less valuable if you do not avoid tax pitfalls. This note highlights the most common pitfalls, including those related to an insolvency. You can avoid most with planning.
Reorganisations
Many businesses will now be considering transactions involving corporate reorganisations. They might want to take advantage of market conditions to buy or be considering the sale of business units to refocus strategy. Or they might become involved in an insolvency or reconstruction.
High Court orders the liquidation of CBL Insurance
Introduction
In the recent case of Global Corporate Ltd v Hale , the Court of Appeal was asked to assess whether sums, described as “interim dividends”, paid to Mr. Hale (the “Respondent”) in his capacity as both a director and shareholder of Powerstation UK Limited (the “Company”), had been made in accordance with section 830 of the Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”) prior to the Company’s insolvency.
Introduction
The recent case ofPlant & Plant (administrators of Relentless Software Ltd) v Vision Games 1 Ltd & Ors1 concerns the attempt of a funder of a video games developer to recover the proceeds of a tax credit payment made by HMRC to the developer, pursuant to the security that had been granted by the developer to the funder.
In assessing whether the funder could recover such sums, the High Court was asked to consider various issues, including:
Timeline for Government’s extended measures
In the United Kingdom, some of the landmark measures introduced by the UK Government in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic have recently been extended by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
We summarise below key milestones relating to those initiatives which have been put in place to support businesses and note how financial stakeholders are impacted. The package of help for businesses is ever-evolving in response to the changing market, and the key dates identified are correct as at 28 October 2020.
COVID-19
Government Intervention Schemes
Current as of 21 May 2021
Government Intervention Schemes
COVID-19 Government Intervention Schemes 2
Countries around the globe are facing unprecedented and rapid change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This guide provides a summary of key government interventions around the globe in relation to: EU State Aid Approvals (for EMEA region), foreign investment restrictions, debt, equity and taxation.
Earlier in March and prior to Covid-19 taking over both the world and the legal world, Mr Justice Snowden handed down his judgment in Bilta (UK) Limited (in liquidation) et ors v (1) Natwest Markets PLC and (2) Mercuria Energy Europe Trading Limited [2020] EWHC 546 (Ch) in which he found both RBS (as defined below) and RBS SEEL (also as defined below) liable for dishonest assistance and knowingly being a party to fraudulent trading. As demonstrated below, the judgment contains a number of cautionary lessons for both banks and traders alike.
HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS
Pension Disputes Bulletin
Welcome to the latest edition of our regular pension disputes bulletin. In these bulletins we report on key cases, Ombudsman decisions and regulatory activity and we highlight emerging risks for pension schemes, providers, sponsors, administrators and other service providers.
In a hurry? In a hurry? Read the `Risk warning', `Takeaways' and `Comment' boxes to find out the key risks, points to note and to read our observations on each case/ development.
MAY 2022