Welcome to the autumn edition of our restructuring and insolvency bulletin.
When we re-vamped our restructuring and insolvency practice early in 2016 with the strategic hire of David Steinberg, the UK economy was ticking along reasonably nicely. Well, at least better than at the start of the decade when austerity was in full flow. Back to 2016 and around that time there was some speculation as to what event would trigger the next global downturn, especially given the backdrop of economic growth and a climate of low interest rates. Then came the Brexit referendum followed by a global pandemic, and four years later we have witnessed the most significant changes to the UK’s insolvency legislation in a generation thanks to The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (“CIGA”). Some momentous events then, each bringing with them both challenges and opportunities for restructuring and insolvency specialists.
We hope our readers are thriving during what is proving to be a rollercoaster of a year. For the time being the UK government has been bounced into providing support to businesses which will hopefully see many through the latest lockdown measures. This is reflected in the latest statistics published by the Insolvency Service (on which see further below) which reveal that when comparing Q3 2020 with Q3 2019 all types of company insolvencies have fallen in number.
But unless news of a potential COVID-19 vaccine really does prompt a return to normal, next year is gearing up to be a very challenging one. We’d just like to remind our readers that our restructuring and insolvency team are here and ready to help – bolstered by the addition of new recent joiners – as any new situations cross your desks (wherever that may be).
And in the meantime – if you can spare the time (what else could you possibly be doing right now?) - read on below for our commentary on the latest legal developments affecting the restructuring and insolvency sector.
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Tim Carter
Matthew Padian
Lucy Trott