Prime Minister Boris Johnson promises that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October with “no ifs or buts”. With three months left until the UK is due to leave the EU, the Prime Minister states that he hopes to negotiate a better deal, but concern remains that the UK will leave the EU with no deal. Are UK businesses prepared for that? The majority are not. The Confederation of British Industry (“CBI”) has…

  We reported last week that the Government intends to proceed with its proposal to reinstate HMRC as a preferential creditor on insolvency, which could spell disaster for UK businesses, lenders and the UK economy. The Government has failed to listen to lenders and others who responded to the Government’s consultation about the impact of its proposed changes to HMRC’s status as a creditor in insolvencies. Squire Patton Boggs hosted a roundtable discussion in May…

Today the Government published draft provisions for inclusion in the Finance Bill which will amend the Insolvency Act 1986 and grant HMRC preferential status on insolvency. A status that was removed in 2003 but which will be re-instated (in part) from 6 April 2020. Despite huge concern from the lending market, voiced in responses to the Government’s consultation on this measure, the only material change we can see is confirmation that preferential status will not apply…

The proposal to reinstate Crown preference in insolvency has met resistance from all angles; the insolvency profession, turnaround experts, accountants, lawyers and funders. But despite HMRC’s bold statement in its consultation paper that the re-introduction of Crown preference will have little impact on funders, it is clear following a discussion with lenders that it may well have a far wider impact on existing and new business, business rescue and the economy in general than HMRC…

This morning Squire Patton Boggs in conjunction with R3 hosted representatives from across the business community to discuss the proposed return of Crown preference in insolvency. Following the Government announcing in last Autumn’s Budget that HMRC’s preferential status will be restored in part in April 2020, Squire Patton Boggs together with R3 and representatives from creditor bodies, insolvency and restructuring professionals, banks, the funding community, government, and business representative bodies aired their views about the…

Crown prerogative dates back to the Magna Carta entitling the monarch to absolute priority for revenue related debt. Come 6 April 2020 will we really be heading back to feudal times and 1215? The proposal to reinstate Crown preference was announced as part of the Autumn Budget last year and came as a surprise to many.   The expected consultation paper published by HMRC this week seeks the views of individuals, shareholders, directors, lenders, companies and…

There has always been a tension between protecting the interests of defined benefit pension schemes and insolvency given on the one hand The Pensions Regulator (TPR) seeks to protect the interests of pension scheme members and the Pension Protection Fund and on the other, the insolvency regime seeks to protect the interests of creditors as a whole. We published an article in July 2018 reporting on a consultation paper issued by The Department for Work…