Late payment rarely starts as a legal problem. It starts as a delay, then a promise, then silence. By the time many businesses look for a debt recovery lawyer UAE creditors can rely on, the real damage is already spreading through cash flow, supplier pressure, internal stress, and the growing risk that recovery becomes harder with every passing week.

April 07, 2026 The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2026 The Amendment Bill has now been approved by the Parliament post the report of the Select Committee as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act). Once in effect, the Act makes significant amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) introducing several new concepts and tweaking existing concepts in light of difficulties faced to make the IBC more efficient. This note sets out a summary of the key changes. A. Corporate Insolvency 1.

When a business in the UAE reaches the point where it can no longer continue, delay usually makes the legal and financial position worse. The company liquidation process in UAE is not just an administrative closure. It is a legal procedure that affects shareholder rights, creditor claims, employee dues, regulatory filings, bank accounts, visas, tax exposure, and in some cases director liability.

A key new directive harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 1 April 2026.

In March 2025 ICC Judge Greenwood gave judgment ([2025] EWHC 597 (Ch)) on two applications of the trustees in bankruptcy of Biraja Pada Bhattacharya and his wife, Susmita Bhattacharya, which resulted in a declaration that the trustees were legally and beneficially entitled to a freehold property, 100 Redcliffe Gardens, London SW10 9HH, which prior to their bankruptcies had been jointly owned by the bankrupts, and ordered the property to be sold with vacant possession, the net proceeds of sale to be paid to the trustees.

Overview

When a company enters financial distress, contractual enforcement rights are often among the first to be affected. The ipso facto stay under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) restricts the enforcement of certain rights that arise because of an insolvency event. These events include voluntary administration, the appointment of a managing controller over the whole or substantially the whole of a company’s property, and proposals for schemes of arrangement.

Cash flow pressure rarely begins with a dramatic collapse. More often, it starts with delayed receivables, mounting supplier demands, pressure from lenders, and partners asking whether the business can still meet its obligations next month. At that stage, UAE insolvency law for businesses becomes more than a legal topic. It becomes a decision-making framework that can protect assets, preserve value, and reduce the risk of personal and corporate exposure.

The La Perla case represents one of the first real tests of cross-border insolvency between Italy and the United Kingdom in the post-Brexit landscape. The well-known lingerie brand, founded in Bologna in 1954, became embroiled in a complex corporate crisis that culminated in November 2023 with the opening of compulsory liquidation proceedings before the High Court in London against La Perla Global Management (UK) Limited (LPGMUK).

The High Court has dismissed an application to set aside a statutory demand, providing helpful guidance on the high bar debtors must meet to establish a “genuine and substantial dispute” in insolvency proceedings, particularly where challenges are based on default interest, alleged oral representations and Consumer Credit Act 1974 (“CCA 1974”) arguments.

Background

Summary