On 26 September 2023, our Insolvency and Asset Recovery team hosted a seminar explaining the emerging and developing types of disputes focussed on insolvent estate recoveries.

The Insolvency Service released the quarterly insolvency statistics for July - September 2023 on 31 October, painting a picture of growing corporate distress. This period saw a total of 6,208 company insolvencies, which together with Q2 2023 marks the highest number of quarterly insolvencies since the midst of the financial crisis in 2009.

Although a comparison with Q2 figures shows a slight reduction of 2% in overall insolvencies, the figures for Q3 showed a marked rise in both compulsory liquidations (14% up on Q2) and administrations (11% higher than Q2).

In a judgment that will be welcomed by insolvency professionals, the Supreme Court has today confirmed that administrators cannot be personally criminally liable for failing to notify the Secretary of State about plans for collective redundancies. This judgment follows an appeal by Robert Palmer against a finding that he was criminally liable for his failure to submit form HR1 in his capacity as the joint administrator of West Coast Capital (USC) Limited (USC).

What is the obligation?

The recent news on the BBC about the rise in insolvencies makes for tough reading. But those who are in business already know how difficult it is out there as they try to weather the trading conditions. Inflationary pressures are increasing the costs of providing goods and services to customers, eroding profitability.

Amendments to the director disqualification regime, enacted in 2015, enable the Insolvency Service (on the request of a creditor of an insolvent company) to seek a compensatory remedy against a disqualified director for the benefit of the creditor(s). This empowers a creditor to take action where an insolvency officer may be unable, or unwilling, to do so.

High rates of insolvencies look set to continue as the latest quarterly insolvency statistics have been published for England and Wales. Whilst the statistics show a 2% dip from the second quarter of 2023, the number of insolvencies remains 10% higher than in 2022 and shows a return to pre-pandemic levels for compulsory liquidations and administrations. It is particularly striking that the first two quarters of 2023 represent the highest quarterly insolvencies since Q2 2009.

On 1st November 2023, the new Luxembourg law of 7 August 2023 on the continuation of businesses and modernisation of insolvency law (the "Law") enters into force.

This long-awaited reform implements Directive 2019/1023 to introduce a modern restructuring regime, with out-of-court and court supervised mechanisms to protect companies in distress. The Law is expected to provide more flexible and effective measures for businesses under financial stress and their creditors, making Luxembourg an attractive jurisdiction for restructurings.

The Financial Conduct Authority (“the FCA”) issued a Final Notice against London Capital & Finance plc (“LCF”) for contravening regulatory requirements (pursuant to section 205 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“the Act”)). The Final Notice contained a statement censuring LCF for failing to ensure that its financial promotions were fair, clear and not misleading.

With the passing of the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act (MTSA) (likely to pass into law in 2024) the way in which we take security over rights and assets in Scotland will be brought firmly into the 21st century, doing away with the need to rely on statutes from as long ago as 1862 and a smattering of case law which has fostered uncertainty in the market for almost as long.

１． はじめに 

令和4年 4月に中小企業の事業再生等に関するガイドライ ン（中小版GL）の運用が開始されてから、1年半が経過しまし た1。中小版GLに基づく計画策定にあたっては、中小企業活 性化協議会における経営改善計画策定支援事業（405事 業）において、DD費用、計画策定支援費用、伴走支援費用 の3分の2（上限あり）の補助を受けることができます。かかる 補助金との関係では、中小企業庁及び独立行政法人中小企 業基盤整備機構（中小企業活性化全国本部）が「経営改善 計画策定支援事業（ガイドラインに基づく計画策定等の支援 ＜中小版GL枠＞）マニュアル・FAQ」（本マニュアル）を公表し ておりますので、本稿では、中小版GLを利用した廃業型私 的整理手続との関係で、特に留意すべき点をご説明いたしま す。なお、本マニュアルは、今後、改訂・変更される可能性があ りますのでご留意ください。

２． 対象となる事業者について