The UK Government has published the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the Bill) that proposes to make both temporary and permanent changes to the UK insolvency laws.

The UK Government has published the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the Bill) that proposes to make both temporary and permanent changes to UK insolvency laws.

As part of these measures, new provisions will be inserted into existing legislation to introduce a new debtor-inpossession moratorium to give companies breathing space in order to try to rescue the company as a going concern. This alert explores the impact of these moratorium measures on secured lenders, with a particular focus on the impact on qualifying floating charge holders (QFCH).

In March 2020, the UK government announced that changes will be made to enable UK companies undergoing a rescue or restructure process to continue trading, giving them breathing space that could help them avoid insolvency.

The legislation implementing this has now been laid before Parliament in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill. This includes measures intended to tide companies through the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as far-reaching wholesale reforms to the UK’s restructuring toolbox.

As reported last month, as part of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK Government has brought forward reforms to the corporate insolvency regime. The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the "Bill") has now been introduced to Parliament.

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill has been introduced to Parliament. MPs will consider all stages of the Bill on 3 June 2020 and it will then progress to the House of Lords. The Bill is subject to the fast-track procedure as it aims to give companies flexibility and breathing space to continue trading in the COVID-19 crisis rather than entering into insolvency.

In addition to the crisis-related measures, there are three key areas of the Bill which will affect financial services companies and their arrangements with customers:

Government interventions into economies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are now globally widespread. To date, in the UK, this has predominantly been focussed on relief measures targeted at financial support, including the creation of government backed loan schemes and the furlough scheme.

This legal guide summarises the scope of directors’ duties when a British Virgin Islands company encounters financial difficulties.

Introduction

This legal guide should be read in conjunction with the legal guide entitled “Duties of a director under British Virgin Islands Law” which describes in further detail the duties which British Virgin Islands law imposes on a director generally.

Monika Lorenzo-Perez and Sabina Khan, Brown Rudnick

This is an extract from the second edition of GRR's The Art of the Ad Hoc. The whole publication is available here.

Status and relationship of an ad hoc committee with indenture trustees

The past year has seen some important judgments and hearings (with judgment awaited at the time of writing) on several subjects, some of which may shape the future of UK litigation for years to come. Litigants and litigators have also spent a good part of the year getting used to a new way of conducting litigation—remotely and fully electronically. Starting with contract law, while there has been little by way of Supreme Court guidance on the subject, the lower courts continue to issue interesting judgments.

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