On Wednesday 24 March, the government confirmed that it will be extending the current temporary restrictions on statutory demands and winding-up petitions and the temporary suspension of directors’ liability for wrongful trading put in place under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020, until 30 June 2021.

The extensions, set out in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Extension of the Relevant Period) Regulations 2021, laid before parliament on 24 March, will come into effect on 26 March 2021.

On 24 March 2021 regulations were laid before parliament to further extend the protections introduced under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA). CIGA originally introduced a number of measures designed to protect companies and directors who were struggling during the pandemic. These measures had originally been implemented to expire at the end of September 2020 but had been subject to two further extensions previously, and have now been extended further.

European Real Estate Finance: Market Update – Q1 2021 March 2021 Authors: Jeffrey Rubinoff, Dr. Thomas Flatten, Thierry Bosly, Hadrien Servais, Carl Hugo Parment, Fernando Navarro, Christophe Goossens, Julio Peralta, Angel Calleja, Aurélie Terlinden, Alexandra Stolt, Amitaben Patel & Brendon Vyas Further information on the response to COVID-19 can be found here, and we also have a German-language article, available here, looking at the impact on commercial leases. LIBOR Discontinuation Much has happened in the world of LIBOR Discontinuation since our last update.

The Government has issued a consultation paper regarding statutory audits and financial reporting. The consultation makes proposals in relation to four areas, namely directors, auditors and audit firms, shareholders and the audit regulator.

The majority of the building and engineering contracts that we encounter (and draft) require some form of performance security from the contractor, whether this is a parent company performance guarantee granted by the contractor's ultimate holding company, or a performance bond granted by a third party surety or a bank for a capped sum. Indeed most, if not all, standard form contracts provide for these forms of security, even if only as an option.

BITE SIZE KNOW HOW FROM THE ENGLISH COURTS

The Commercial Disputes Weekly will be taking a short break, returning on 6 April.

We appreciate that our clients, partners and friends are currently facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Click here for a message from our Managing Partners, and here for all of our latest updates and articles on the subject. If you have any questions or require support, please do not hesitate to speak to your usual contact at WFW.

Key Takeaways

In addition to the extension to the commercial eviction ban until 30 June 2021, the UK Government has now also extended the moratorium on commencing winding-up proceedings until 30 June 2021.

You may view the regulation from the UK Government at gov.uk.

Asenior employee of a company no matter how malfeasant, fraudulent, dishonest, incompetent, or inept they have proved themselves to be in the performance of their role cannot be disqualified under section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 unless they were one of the company's directors or shadow directors.

In the world of companies, therefore, disqualification for unfitness following insolvency is the sole preserve of directors and those in accordance with whose direction or instruction the directors are accustomed to act.

The government restrictions on enforcement options for Lenders have been regularly extended due to the ongoing pandemic. Below is a table of what options are available to Lenders as at 22 March 2021 to enforce their security and recover liabilities owing from their borrowers.