Insolvency Blog -
Mutual assistance in insolvency - will it take off in 2007?
Date: 12th February, 2007 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
The UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency should enhance cross-border assistance for non-EU officeholders and creditors in British insolvency proceedings. Introduced in England and Wales, and Scotland, on 4 April 2006 it was first applied in the English High Court on 23 November 2006 in Re Rajapakse (unreported) when a US Chapter 7 Trustee sought the court's assistance to recover assets in England. Cooperation in cross-border insolvency proceedings within the EU is governed by the European Insolvency Regulation. Chapter 15 of the US Bankruptcy Code similarly introduces the UNCITRAL Model Law into US law. Richard Howard's post Global Bankruptcy Mutual Assistance addresses the question...
European Corporate Insolvency Regimes
Date: 11th February, 2007 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
A version of this article first appeared in Recovery, Autumn 2004. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and I hope this outline doesn ...
Schefenacker €200 million debt write-off
Date: 11th February, 2007 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
European Insolvency Regulation
Date: 11th February, 2007 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 3
COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1346/2000 of 29 May 2000 on insolvency proceedings (the "European Insolvency Regulation") applies to all EU Member States except Denmark and seeks to coordinate the application of local laws in formal insolvencies within a cooperative framework....
Foreign creditors’ rights in UK insolvencies
Date: 11th February, 2007 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
This post was prompted by the following question on LawGuru.com: Can someone outside of the European Union start Bankruptcy Proceedings in Great Britain or make a claim in existing British Bankruptcy Proceeedings against an Individual or a Company? The short answer is "Yes, and yes"! Foreign creditors are fully recognised in the UK jurisdictions of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and, whilst they may benefit from local professional assistance, they can certainly present insolvency petitions and claim in UK insolvencies. These existing rights were confirmed in England and Wales and in Scotland by The Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 ...
The Insolvency Practitioners and Insolvency Services Account (Fees) (Amendment) Order 2007
Date: 3rd February, 2007 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
The Insolvency Practitioners and Insolvency Services Account (Fees) (Amendment) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/133), which comes into force on 1 April 2007, makes amendments to the Insolvency Practitioners and Insolvency Services Account (Fees) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/3363). It increases the fee to be paid in relation to the authorisation of insolvency practitioners and provides for a fee of ...
Insolvency can be good for you!
Date: 31st January, 2007 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
A version of this article first appeared in Financier Worldwide Global Restructuring & Insolvency Review 2003 The 21st century has seen the firm establishment of a rescue culture in the UK, exemplified by the growing influence of the Society of Turnaround Professionals and the now familiar corporate insolvency provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002. The legislative developments have served to lower entry barriers to insolvency proceedings in terms of cost and perception, the latter through reducing the "stigma of bankruptcy". In particular, the statutory objectives of administration, which is firmly established as the jurisdiction...
Pensions and insolvency risk - the Purple Book revisited
Date: 26th January, 2007 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
We looked at The Purple Book, the Pensions Regulator's ("TPR") and the Pension Protection Fund's ("PPF") view of pensions and insolvency risk, in an earlier post. Further analysis reveals a strikingly high risk of insolvency for the sponsors of a number of schemes. Of the defined benefit schemes examined by TPR and the PPF at 31 March 2006, the 82 schemes (1.4%) whose sponsors are most likely to become insolvent within 12 months have an average insolvency probability of 35.7%. 24 of those companies can be expected to have failed already and 5 more are expected to fail in the next two months. 75 of those 82 schemes are underfunded...
Insolvency litigation funding for $173m claim
Date: 23rd January, 2007 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 1
Insolvency litigation funding is a maturing industry, certainly if you believe the press reports about Insolvency Management Ltd funding a $173m claim by the liquidator against the auditors of Stone & Rolls. The details and merits of the claim need not concern us. What is important is that an "after-the-event" insurer will provide cover sufficient to enable a liquidator to issue such proceedings. Litigation is not something a liquidator can pursue lightly. Even directions hearings can lead to adverse costs orders. But the point has not been lost on the insolvency regulators that arguably liquidators have to explore - even...
Insolvency risk - the PPF’s “Purple Book”
Date: 19th January, 2007 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 1
The Pensions Regulator ("TPR") and the Pension Protection Fund ("PPF") issued The Purple Book in November 2006, revealing, in addition to much wider pension risk issues, the PPF's perspective of insolvency risk, largely on the basis of Dun & Bradstreet's methodology and data. Key relevant messages include: insolvency risk is higher in companies with poorly funded or small pension schemes or in traditional industries; 0.7% of active companies go into insolvent liquidation each year, but the risk of insolvency is dramatically higher for the 5% of companies with the lowest Dun & Bradstreet failure score (ie those scoring 1 - 5). ...
