In the Corporate and Commercial Rescue and Restructure team we’re conditioned to look at ways of assisting clients who frequently approach us when things have gone awry.
Three business stories, from entirely different sources, have encouraged me that it’s not just the arrival of Spring that we should be grateful for.
Let’s start with this one, ‘I get a lot of satisfaction from showing people there is usually a solution to their problems’. In this case the author’s an insolvency practitioner, but that’s exactly how I and my colleagues feel on many occasions.
Situations invariably look different from a different perspective, and solutions are there to be found.
The second article that made me sit back and think ‘yes, that’s helpful’ came from the possibly unlikely source of Pensions Age.
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has published interim guidance on the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 around the newly-introduced concepts of moratorium and financial difficulty mitigation arrangements.
Under the Act, a moratorium can be initiated by the directors of a company that, among other things, suspends payments of most historic debts and prevents action being taken by the creditors, including pension schemes, to recover sums due for 20 days.
The PPF said it expects company directors to “fully engage” with scheme trustees, the PPF and The Pensions Regulator (TPR), who are entitled to receive notice of the moratorium. It also expects to be provided with all the relevant information necessary to permit the proper management of the pension scheme by the trustees, including an understanding of the ongoing covenant, existing funding arrangements, and the PPF exposure to the PPF deficit and drift.
Further details are covered in Pensions Age’s article in full, here.
The Act also introduces the concept of a compromise or arrangement between a company and its creditors. This arrangement is formed to try and eliminate, reduce, or mitigate the impact of any financial difficulties the company is facing. It seems even the regulators are willing businesses to succeed, wherever possible.
The Pension Protection Fund produces a number of helpful guides, such as this.
Finally this last story contains a business message for us all.
The news for many hundreds of high street retailers locked out of their shops and restaurants for months during the pandemic has been sad to read. But out of adversity one restaurateur has made a virtue out of a crisis, “Meet the restaurateur with a track record of spotting an opportunity in a crisis”.
A lesson for us all.
If you need advice or help regarding Corporate & Commercial matters, please contact Michael Kashis or another member of our expert Corporate & Commercial Team on 020 7631 4141 or you can email company@bishopandsewell.co.uk.
The above is accurate as at 10 March 2021. The information above may be subject to change during these ever-changing times.
The content of this note should not be considered legal advice and each matter should be considered on a case by case basis.
