Spring is upon us in the UK and *whispers* it finally seems to have stopped raining. News that the UK economy grew for a second month in a row in February has raised hopes that the UK is emerging from the recession seen at the end of 2023.
However, there remain tricky decisions ahead for the Bank of England as it works out what to do with interest rates (and when) in the face of wages that edge up despite falling rates of inflation and increasing unemployment.
Against that backdrop, insolvency statistics have continued to climb: you may have seen Matt popping up in the media to discuss those, as well as the high-profile administration of The Body Shop.
In this edition of our newsletter, Tim and Lucy took on the challenge of crystal ball gazing, predicting what legal changes might lie ahead over the next 12 months (or so). We’ll revisit at year-end to see how they have got on…
Restructuring plan caselaw has stepped up a notch with January’s Court of Appeal decision on the use of the cross-class cram down power in Adler. David and Helen write about the implications of the decision on the evolution of restructuring plans. They also consider the post-Adler approval of the restructuring plan in McDermott and the need for a reconvened meeting in Aggregate. Following the approval of its restructuring plan in July last year, Sammy looks at the improvement in Prezzo’s fortunes.
Amongst our other articles, Tim and Louise consider a recent case in which a debt arising under a foreign judgment was held to be sufficient to found a bankruptcy proceeding, whilst David and Lucy discuss whether a shareholder can prevent administrators rescuing a company as a going concern. David and Louise also consider the thorny question of when a director’s conflict of interest is deemed to be authorised. As Thames Water consults with its stakeholders, Lucy considers whether the revamped water industry special administration regime will get its first outing.
And a recent case provides a cautionary reminder to check that the instrument creating a security interest is properly presented for registration - Andrew and Caroline discuss.
A full list of our recent articles and items is below.
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Tim Carter
Matthew Padian