The year is racing on, with the recent tantalising promise of better weather and lighter evenings ahead helping to offset some of the current political and economic doom and gloom.
Against that backdrop, we bring you our latest roundup of articles. And with conference season about to start in earnest, we’ll be out and about at a number of events and would love to see you in person – a list of where you’ll find us is below. For those of you who see Lucy Trott in person please do wish her congratulations: we are proud of her well-deserved promotion to Managing Associate, reflecting her talent and hard work, and thrilled to continue to develop the team’s strength and depth.
Turning to more prosaic matters, the introduction of tariffs by the US has seen stock markets plumet. What steps should directors take when managing a business in such tumultuous times? Joanna Charter and I offer up some thoughts. This month also sees many of the measures from the government’s first budget come into force, with increases in minimum wage and national insurance contributions expected to hit particularly hard in sectors such as hospitality. Originally published in CLH News, Helen Martin’s article looks at what 2025 might hold for the sector (for a round-up of the April changes and their potential impact for business see Bad news for employment? Are we going to see unintended negative consequences from the impending changes? by our employment colleague Rebecca Berry).
The start of this year has seen some interesting decisions which have technical interest for insolvency practitioners and lawyers alike. The Supreme Court’s decision on the scope of section 423 of the Insolvency Act (transactions defrauding creditors) firmly opens the door to the pursuit of those seeking to hide the dissipation of assets behind a corporate veil: Lucy and I consider the decision together with our disputes partner James Evison. Section 423 was the focus of another recent decision, this time of the Court of Appeal in respect of a challenge from HMRC – Lucy and I consider the implications. Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal has considered whether an unrecognised foreign judgment can form the basis of an English bankruptcy proceeding, in a decision that is expected to also apply to the corporate insolvency world. Together with disputes partner Catherine Penny, Louise Corcoran and I weigh the decision.
The scope of protection from disclosure afforded by litigation privilege is a thorny issue for insolvency officeholders, who are tasked with investigating potential claims against third parties – from what point does it protect against the disclosure of potentially sensitive information? In the third of our articles with our disputes colleagues, Lucy, Millie Wakefield and I, with disputes senior knowledge lawyer Miranda Joseph, discuss the High Court’s recent decision on this point. And in the final of our flurry of articles with our disputes colleagues, Helen Martin and Tom Wilkin consider the High Court’s recent decision that entry into administration does not pause limitation periods.
The nature of the CVA and the role of the CVA supervisor was before the court in Paramount Licensing Inc v Batty and another. Helen and I consider the resulting reminders of the limits of the court’s power in this area – and the risks for insolvency practitioners of taking on the supervisor role.
The Thames Water situation continues to speed along too quickly for this bulletin to keep pace with. With the company’s preferred restructuring plan approved (which Lucy considers below) and the initial unsuccessful appeals, attention turns to equity fundraising against the spectre of further appeals and proposed write-down of debt. With much water still to cross (sorry…), we expect that the government’s special administration plans remain close at hand.
A full list of our recent articles and items is below. Again, do let us know if you have any comments on the items covered, or suggestions for topics for us to cover in the future.
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Matthew Padian
Tim Carter