The current economic landscape is presenting challenges for many businesses. Our restructuring and business advisory specialists have provided a list of ten top tips if your business is facing financial distress.
The current economic landscape is presenting challenges for many businesses. Our team at Shepherd and Wedderburn is here to help you navigate those challenges.
Adaptability and resilience have never been more important as many businesses are currently facing ongoing challenges, such as:
Hill Dickinson’s Hong Kong Commercial and Insolvency Disputes team acted for the successful respondent in Guy Kwok-Hung Lam (Respondent) -v- Tor Asia Credit Master Fund LP (Appellant) Final Appeal No.13 of 2022 (on appeal from CACV No. 393 of 2021 [2023] HKCFA 9).
The recent case of Dolfin Asset Services Ltd v Stephens & Anor (Re Dolfin Financal (UK) Ltd) [2023] EWHC 123 (Ch) (“Dolfin“) concerned a special administration, but it has relevance to administrators more generally. In particular, when it comes to the judge’s view of what is meant by the word “consider” – which is phrase used in the insolvency legislation when it comes to making decisions.
1. At the Debt Restructuring in the Asia-Pacific seminar on 22 September 2022 co-organised by Singapore International Commercial Court, INSOL International & INSOL Asia, Singapore’s Second Minister for Law Mr Edwin Tong SC announced that Singapore will be undertaking “a root-and-branch study”[2] of the judicial management regime in Singapore.
Businesses are still struggling to recover post-Covid, with corporate insolvency figures continuing to rise. Recent research shows that the most common company insolvency procedure is creditors’ voluntary liquidation (CVL) and in March 2023, there was the highest monthly total of CVLs since January 2019.
The sectors that appear to have been hit the hardest are construction; wholesale and retail; accommodation and food services.
Introduction
The insolvency statistics released for March 2023 demonstrate the impact of turbulent trading climates on UK businesses, in particular soaring costs and decreased consumer spending.
The March 2023 insolvency statistics show that UK corporate insolvencies have risen 16% year-on-year and 38% since February 2023.
The UK’s latest quarterly insolvency statistics have been published and, as predicted, continue to show a high rate of insolvencies, both in relation to pre-pandemic numbers and by comparison to last year’s Q1 results. The Q1 2023 statistics show a 18% increase in the overall number of registered company insolvencies from Q1 2022 and a 4% decrease from Q4 2022, with a total of 5,747 company insolvencies (seasonally adjusted) during this past quarter.
Background
Several recent insolvencies of popular crypto fin-techs have shaken the crypto markets, eroding investors’ trust in digital assets in general and their future reliability.
The European Union's (EU) response is to implement new and clarify existing safeguards for investors to protect their property in the event of an insolvency. In this context, the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR) is to be implemented throughout the EU.
Legislative changes
Introduction
The law is constantly developing to fit the ever-changing world. Most recently, with the digitalisation of the commercial landscape and the proliferation of cryptocurrencies, NFTs and metaverse-related businesses, the courts have had to apply or adapt the law to deal with novel situations. This was the case in Re Babel Holding Ltd and other matters [2023] SGHC 98, where the Singapore High Court had to apply restructuring and insolvency law in the context of a cryptocurrency-related business.