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About Restructuring & Insolvency Law

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Brexit

Brexit is a significant subject for R&I lawyers due to the reciprocal nature of our relationship with Europe. Our Brexit content offers key information and updates for all practitioners, as well as legislation trackers.

Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020

Includes new legislation due to coronavirus. Temporary provisions centre around winding-up petitions, wrongful trading and ipso facto clauses. Permanent changes include the creation of two corporate insolvency processes.

International content

Get country guides for 45 jurisdictions – the majority are from our Getting the Deal Through series. Where there are jurisdictional gaps, we have commissioned content, and have created several comparison tables.

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Latest Restructuring & Insolvency Q&As

Q&As
Can an insolvency office-holder disclose individual creditor proofs of debt in third party litigation to evidence the company's financial position at a particular point in time? Does disclosure of a creditor's proof of debt require the creditor's consent?
Q&As
Can an employee submit a claim to the Redundancy Payments Office in respect of protected payments where a writ of control has been returned unexecuted (which is an insolvency event under section 123 of the Insolvency Act 1986) or do they have to be in a formal insolvency procedure first?
Q&As
Can an Administrator of a limited company (appointed jointly but with power to act alone) delegate authority to sign a sale contract (not deed) to the solicitor acting for the company in respect of the sale? Can the same Administrator also delegate authority to sign the same contract to the same solicitor on behalf of the Administrators who are also party to that contract for the purpose of receiving the benefit of the covenants for no personal liability and other declarations and exclusions?
Q&As
Can an administrator making a distribution to creditors pay a creditor (A) which is a sister company to (B), where B holds an account that the administrator has been notified is the subject of a freezing injunction? The freezing injunction prohibits the respondent from removing, disposing of, dealing with or diminishing the value of their assets, and the prohibition specifies, in particular, any interest the respondent has in the account held with (B).
Q&As
Can a mortgagee who has not been paid simply sell the property without a court order?
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Associated legal terms

Asset Stripping

Asset stripping describes the process of acquiring a company, business or other undertaking primarily to sell off its assets (such as property, plant, intellectual property or valuable contracts) separately, often leaving behind a weakened or insolvent entity.

In UK and Irish legal practice, “asset stripping” is not generally a defined statutory term but a descriptive expression used in company law, insolvency, restructuring and corporate finance contexts. It is closely scrutinised where disposals prejudice creditors, employees, pension schemes or minority shareholders.

Key legal issues include: transactions at an undervalue, preferences, wrongful or fraudulent trading, directors’ duties (including duties to creditors on or near insolvency), financial assistance rules, and schemes to avoid tax or pension liabilities. Insolvency practitioners, liquidators and regulators may challenge asset disposals, seek restoration of assets, or pursue directors and connected parties personally.

The concept is broadly consistent across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, though it operates within each jurisdiction’s company and insolvency regimes and, in Ireland and the UK, within their respective implementation of EU‑derived rules still in force. Asset stripping is particularly relevant in leveraged buyouts, distressed M&A, pre‑packs and restructuring transactions.

Creditors’ voluntary liquidation (CVL)

Voluntary process to wind up company, an alternative to liquidation'>Compulsory liquidation.

Due and owing

Due and owing describes a sum of money that is currently payable and legally enforceable, rather than merely anticipated or contingent. In practice, it is used in contracts, loan agreements, settlement documents, pleadings and insolvency contexts to identify debts that have fallen due under their terms and are not disputed, suspended or subject to a condition precedent.

The phrase is not generally defined in UK or Irish legislation, but is a well‑established expression in case law and commercial drafting across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, with broadly consistent usage. Courts typically treat a debt as “due and owing” where the time for payment has arrived, the amount is ascertainable, and no valid defence, set‑off or counterclaim prevents immediate enforcement.

The distinction between sums that are “due and owing” and those that are future, contingent or disputed is important for limitation periods, drafting of payment clauses, determining events of default, and assessing solvency (for example, whether a company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due).
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