Care providers in the UK are under considerable financial strain. Costs of care continue to rise. The fees from local authorities have failed to keep pace with the actual cost of delivering care despite the growing demand for care and for such care to meet the expected fundamental standards. It is therefore not surprising that some care providers are buckling under the strain. What should the directors of a provider do if the provider is buckling under the strain?
A significant decision issued last week by a five judge bench of the Inner House has reversed a 40 year old decision on the meaning of 'effectually executed diligence' in a receivership.
Section 60 of the Insolvency Act 1986 provides that in a receivership, all persons who have 'effectually executed diligence' on any part of the property of the company which is subject to the charge by which the receiver is appointed have priority over the holder of the floating charge.
The High Court has held that a bank owed a duty of care to its customer when on notice that an agent acting for the customer was misusing his authority. In the case of Singularis Holdings Limited (in Official Liquidation) v Daiwa Capital Markets Europe Limited [2017] EWHC 257 (Ch), a bank was liable in negligence to its customer since it was on notice that its customer was at risk of being defrauded by its director but failed to stop payments made for the purpose of misappropriating funds of the company.
The Facts
HENRY GEORGE DICKINSON (Claimant) v (1) NAL REALISATIONS (STAFFORDSHIRE) LTD (2) KEVIN JOHN HELLARD & GERALD KRASNER (JOINT LIQUIDATORS OF THE FIRST DEFENDANT) (Defendants) & JUDITH YAP DICKINSON (Third Party) & ROBERT WILLIAMSON (Fourth Party) [2017] EWHC 28 (Ch)
Norton Aluminium Limited ("the Company") went into administration in August 2012 when it received a draft judgment in favour of local residents in a claim for nuisance, which resulted in substantial damages being award and likely legal costs.
January 2017
Practice Group: Restructuring & Insolvency
Banking & Asset Finance
Modernised UK Insolvency Rules Arriving April 2017
By Jonathan Lawrence
The updated UK Insolvency Rules 2016 will come into force on 6 April 2017. The new rules have four aims:
o to reflect modern business practice and increase efficiency; o to restructure and modernise the 1986 Rules; o to implement policy changes; and o to consolidate the 1986 Rules and subsequent amendments.
Introduction
A company in liquidation appealed against a decision that its claim against the directors, for breach of fiduciary or statutory duty in relation to distribution in specie of the claimant company’s shareholding in another company, was time-barred.
1. Introduction
The Insolvency Rules 2016 (“the 2016 Rules”) were published and laid before parliament on 25 October 2016. The rules will come in to force on 6 April 2017. The following note summarises the key features of the rules. For further detail the reader is referred to the following sources:
Recent cases we have been involved in have highlighted the need for Insolvency Practitioners to pay careful attention to the effect that block transfer orders have on administrations where the exit route is a creditors' voluntary liquidation ("CVL"). Failure to do so could risk the appointment of liquidators being invalid.
The statutory requirements
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation happens when shareholders and directors agree to place the business into liquidation because it can no longer pay its bills when they fall due. This is the most common form of liquidation in the UK.