Summary
I was recently reminded of an upcoming presentation my colleague Dan Conway, and I are due to be delivering to the Association of Professional Compliance Consultants (APCC) on wind down planning and the importance of an effective and executable plan for FCA-regulated businesses.
Amidst the cost of living crisis, businesses are folding in record numbers, with barely a week passing without news of a big company casualty. Paperchase is the latest retailer to collapse into administration, with the business being snapped up by Tesco for sale in its superstores and 820 jobs reportedly at risk. So how can we identify the businesses that are in the danger zone and could be heading for insolvency?
1. Profit warnings
The latest statistics from UHY Hacker Young which reveal the financial difficulties faced by pubs and bars are disappointing and very concerning.
According to the national accountancy firm, insolvencies rose from 280 in 2020/21 to 512 as of the end of 2022. Given the perfect storm caused by rising inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, staff shortages and escalating salary costs, it perhaps isn’t too surprising. Nevertheless, corporate failure is not inevitable and businesses can do something about it.
The U.K. government has published its much-anticipated proposals for regulating the cryptoasset industry. These proposals, currently in the form of a consultation, will see many (but not all) cryptoasset-related activities being brought within the regulatory perimeter for financial services in the U.K.
Despite the “elegance” of the arguments challenging the calling of creditors’ meetings on behalf of the former CEO, who argued that the rights of “B” shareholders including himself, would be adversely affected, Trower J found that as neither the contractual terms of the rights themselves nor their economic value would be affected by the plans, he would order calling of the meetings under section 901C(3) Companies Act 2006. There was no real change to the economic value for the B shareholders.
Spotting the warning signs of distress in your construction supply chain and taking early action can significantly reduce the impact on your projects
While insolvency events may appear to arise suddenly, there are often warning signs or "red flags" of distress well in advance. While these do not necessarily demonstrate actual insolvency, they can indicate liquidity and solvency risks to the supply chain.
CargoLogicAir Limited (the Company) was the UK's only all-cargo main deck freight airline. Due to sanctions imposed on its Russian owner, the Company was unable to effectively trade and pay its debts as they fell due despite obtaining a 'Basic Needs Licence'. Its sole director applied to appoint administrators.
Issues
The court considered two key issues:
Since the introduction of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) and the creation of the new Part 26A restructuring plan procedure, questions have been raised about whether the cost of using such a procedure would restrict its use to larger, better capitalised companies.