July 2025
Petrofac Restructuring Plans Overturned, but Significant Questions Left Unanswered
Key Takeaways
Provision of new money
In a significant follow-on judgment the Court of Appeal has both clarified and moved beyond the High Court’s approach to the ‘no worse off’ test, but ultimately set aside the sanction of Petrofac’s proposed restructuring plans on fairness grounds.
On 1 July, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s decision1 to sanction the restructuring plans proposed by two Petrofac group companies as they did not consider that the benefits of the restructuring had been fairly allocated.
Overview
In the recent High Court decision of Ley and another v Suttle and another [2025] EWHC 796 (Ch), Joint Liquidators successfully obtained permission from the Court to amend pleadings in circumstances where the originating Insolvency Act application was issued on a protective basis to preserve limitation.
Executive Summary
Overview
If you walk along the seafront in the Lancashire town of Morecambe, you will come across a statue of the late Eric Morecambe. Many of us will remember Eric as half of one of the most famous comic double acts in the United Kingdom. Morecambe and Wise made us laugh, not so much through innuendo but more through the perfect timing of their various on screen exchanges. So important was timing to Eric Morecambe that one of the quotes at the foot of his statue is the phrase "In life, everything is timing".
TOPICAL UPDATES : TO IP AND BEYOND
SNAPSHOTS
KERALA HIGH COURT
SREEKUMAR AV V. STATE OF KERALA & ANR.
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