IPA exclusive industry update from Insolvency Insider

IPA Insolvency Practitioner newsletter, November 2022

Contents

• Paul Smith, CEO
• Samantha Keen, President
• Ongoing monitoring and review of a business relationship – Reg 28(11) Money Laundering Regulations 2017
• AML 2021/22 Annual Report and 2022/23 Sector Risk Assessment
• HMRC update
• Lay members required for the IPA’s Anti-Money Laundering Committee, Disciplinary & Appeals Committee and Regulation & Conduct Committee
• IPA Roadshow roundup
• IPA Learning | Corporate Insolvency Review 2022 (CPD: 1.5h)
• Don’t miss the 14th Personal Insolvency Conference (CPD: 6h)
• IPA Awards: Nominees announced!
• Exclusive discounts on training from the IPA and our partners – make savings on essential CPD
• Membership and licence renewals
• NEW member benefit: Discounted meeting facilities from Office Space in Town (member login required to view)
• Save money on your airport parking with APH! (Member login required to view)
• Need new IT products? Claim exclusive IPA membership offers from Dell
• CPI training with BPP – special offer for IPA members (member login required to view)
• Kentish publisher’s archive saved for local history

A specially curated selection of the top stories for IPA members from Insolvency Insider Editor, Henry Louis. More information on all the stories and the link to subscribe to the newsletter is here.

Recent Insolvencies

• Made.com Design Ltd, a London-based e-commerce company which designs and sells furniture and home accessories online, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators on 1 November. Its shares have also been suspended from trading on the London Stock Exchange. The company thrived as people decorated their homes during the pandemic. However, supply chain problems, a recent decline in the demand for furniture and the cost- of-living crisis have caused financial difficulties for the company. The business employs 700 people, but in September announced that it was in the process of making more than a third of staff redundant. It sought a buyer for its business over the month of October, but recently announced that talks with interested parties had fallen through as none were unable to meet its deadline of submitting a bid by the end of October. Zelf Hussain, Peter Dickens and Rachael Wilkinson of PwC will be appointed as Joint Administrators. Silicon Valley Bank has four registered charges against the company.

• Wasps Holdings Limited, a London-based rugby club, entered administration on 17 October, making it the second Premiership club to do so in less than a month. Arena Coventry Limited, which operates the Wasps-owned Coventry Building Society Arena and holds the Coventry City Council lease to operate the stadium, has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, giving it time to find further funding so that the stadium remains operational. Meanwhile, 167 Wasps players and staff have been made redundant, and the club has been suspended by the Premiership. Andrew Sheridan and Raj Mittal of FRP were appointed as Joint Administrators. Derek Arthur Richardson has two registered charges against the company, while U.S. Bank Trustees Limited and Canmango Limited each has one.

• Jehu Group Limited, Jehu Project Services Limited and Waterstone Homes Limited, a group of Welsh construction firms which was started by the grandfather of the current owners 85 years ago, have entered administration. Jehu said it has been hindered by fixed-price contracts it had struck before the pandemic, with profit margins being wiped out by construction cost inflation spiralling by more than 25%. 104 employees have been made redundant. Begbies Traynor have been appointed as Joint Administrators. There are a number of registered charges against the companies, including several in favour of Dbw Investments (11) Limited.

Insights

• Grace Panter and Rachel Wilson of Travers Smith provide a case study about an inadvertent waiver of privilege, which serves as a cautionary tale to insolvency practitioners that merely stating that sections of evidence do not constitute a waiver of privilege will not prevent a court from ordering disclosure.

• The team at Ashurst summarise the latest piece of Lehman Brothers litigation, where the English High Court considered whether a party that has been relying on a company’s administration as an event of default to justify non-payment under an agreement can continue to rely on that default once the company later exits administration as a solvent company.

• The team at Christie & Co anticipates that there will be an uptick in distressed activity in the UK hotel market, which remains still at an all-time low, predicting more off-market distressed transactions for over-leveraged businesses over the winter season, as well as a potential consolidation of owner-operators as profit margins come under pressure.

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