Introduction

In a recent decision, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) provided useful clarification on how TUPE operates in insolvency scenarios when a provisional liquidator is appointed. The judgment confirms that the TUPE exception for terminal insolvency proceedings can apply earlier than some employers and buyers may expect, with the result that employee transfer protections may be disapplied before a winding-up order is made.

TUPE and insolvency

On 6 November 2025, winding-up orders were made against Assent Building Control Compliance Limited (“Assent”) and its subsidiaries LB Building Control Limited (“LB”) and

Can section 234 of the Insolvency Act 1986 serve as a fast-track route for administrators to secure vacant possession of property from trespassers? That was the question before the High Court in the recent case of Maher v Investalet Ltd [2025] EWHC 3133 (Ch).

The facts

On insolvency, the pari passu principle applies, meaning unsecured creditors rank equally in the distribution of available assets. That principle helps explain why a creditor who has obtained a judgment debt but has not completed enforcement (for instance by obtaining a final charging order) will usually be barred from doing so once insolvency intervenes.

The Insolvency Service has for many decades been the Government department responsible for the oversight of bankruptcies, compulsory insolvencies and, in more serious cases, the disqualification of individual directors.

It has recently been reported in the press that the project company for England’s largest Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract is going into liquidation, affecting 88 schools in Stoke-on-Trent.

This article discusses the defining features of Bermuda’s insolvency landscape and the primary insolvency and rescue procedures available under Bermuda law, including compulsory liquidations, provisional liquidations and schemes of arrangements. The case of Chishti v Afiniti Ltd is presented as a recent example of a company successfully availing itself of a restructuring plan through the use of ‘light touch’ provisional liquidation.

The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 (the “Act”) came into force on 2 December 2025, providing helpful statutory confirmation that digital assets may be considered “property” as a matter of law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Act, working together with current insolvency law, is a significant step in providing further certainty to investors, lenders, and custodians in the digital asset market.