The Coronavirus Act 2020 is now in force and Section 82 of that Act effecting the postponement of the landlord’s right to forfeit for non-payment of rent is causing consternation amongst both landlords and tenants as they seek to navigate through these uncertain times.

Given the material impact that coronavirus is having on businesses, on March 28, 2020 the government announced that legislation would be forthcoming amending UK insolvency laws to:

On 28 March 2020 the Secretary of State for BEIS, Alok Sharma, announced that changes would be made to the UK insolvency laws to help companies "…emerge intact the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic…to give them extra time and space to weather the storm and be ready when the crisis ends whilst ensuring creditors get the best returns possible in the circumstances".

The UK Parliament made an Order on 3 March 2020 which increases the prescribed part, payable to unsecured creditors from floating charge recoveries on the insolvency of a company from £600,000 to £800,000.

Back in August 2018, in its paper entitled “Government Response: Insolvency and Corporate Governance” (the 2018Paper) the Government responded to its consultation on ‘Insolvency and Corporate Governance‘ with the announcement of several reforms and proposed next steps.

A recent English case has considered for the first time whether and if so to what extent the general duties of a director survive a company’s entry into an insolvency process.

Following on from our blog: Does e-filing give you a headache? Does the recent guidance issued by the Chancellor help ease the pain?

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: In Re C A & T Developments Ltd, the court found that the appointment of administrators had been motivated by an improper purpose and the purpose of the administration could not be achieved. In an application under Paragraph 81 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986), the court therefore ordered the administration to end and the company to be wound up compulsorily.

For many years an insolvent company’s creditors have had their cake and eaten it where a gratuitous alienation for inadequate consideration has been successfully challenged.

Being involved with a company which is experiencing financial difficulties is clearly a stressful experience for directors. As well as having to deal with the operational consequences of the company’s distress, directors must ensure that they comply with their duties and obligations under the Companies Act 2006 (CA2006) and the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA1986). Directors of listed entities are in a particularly difficult position, as in addition to those duties they must comply with their obligations to the markets.

Directors’ duties

The UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (“UKJT”) is one of six taskforces that make up the LawTech Delivery Panel established by the UK government, the judiciary and the Law Society of England and Wales as a collaborative discussion forum to promote the use of technology in the UK’s legal sector.

In May 2019 the UKJT issued a public consultation seeking to identify the principle issues over which there is perceived to be confusion regarding the status of cryptoassets and smart contracts under the law of England and Wales.