News & Publications

When the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) introduced the restructuring plan in England, comparisons with plans of reorganization under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (U.S. Bankruptcy Code) were inevitable. A rundown of the similarities between the two processes is easy: both are court-sanctioned and based on classes, with the ability to compromise claims and/or interests held by secured creditors, unsecured creditors and equity holders (including through cross-class cram down). In [...]

Avid readers of this blog, insolvency aficionados, or anyone who may have glimpsed the news over the past year will not have failed to notice that substantial government support packages were put in place to help businesses survive during the COVID pandemic. These measures were particularly important during the various lockdown stages when many businesses were prevented from trading either at all or on any normal basis. One such measure was to prevent landlords from [...]

Creditors of distressed businesses are often frustrated by shareholder-controlled boards when directors pursue strategies that appear to be designed to benefit shareholders at the creditors' expense. In these circumstances, creditors might consider sending a letter to the board to convince the directors to pivot and adopt alternative strategies or face risk of liability for breaching fiduciary duties. The efficacy of this approach depends on many factors, including the company's financial condition, the board's composition and [...]