Roles, powers, duties and functions of an insolvency office-holder

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General

While only a licensed insolvency practitioner (IP) can advise on and undertake appointments in all formal insolvency procedures, the official receiver (OR) does not need to be a licensed IP and neither do certain receivers/managers.

Anyone who wishes to practise as an IP needs to pass examination papers set by the Joint Insolvency Examination Board or have an equivalent qualification from another accounting regulatory body. Once the exams have been passed, it is necessary to meet the authorising body's insolvency experience requirements. IPs are subject to oversight and inspection by their recognised professional body (RPB).

For further reading on the ability of persons to act as IPs and court sanction of IPs in public interest cases, see Practice Note: Insolvency practitioners and their qualification.

With the exception of voluntary liquidators, IPs will also be acting as officers of the court, whether appointed by the court or otherwise, and therefore must comply with the duty applicable to officers of the court set out in Re Condon Ex p James (1874) L.R. 9 Ch App 609 to act honourably and fairly.

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Latest Restructuring & Insolvency News

Insolvency Service reports Birmingham director sentenced for BBL fraud

The Insolvency Service has reported that Junaid Dar, a Birmingham fitness company director has received a 20-month prison sentence and suspended for 18 months, after fraudulently obtaining £45,500 in bounce back loans (BBL) during 2020. Dar made three separate loan applications when businesses were only entitled to one, subsequently using portions of the funds for personal expenses at retailers, restaurants and leisure attractions. The sentence includes 20 days of rehabilitation activity, 180 hours of unpaid work, and £2,400 in costs. Dar was previously disqualified as a company director for 11 years from April 2022.

Can a bankruptcy petition be heard at a hearing listed for a set-aside application? When can a guarantee found a petition? (Matthews v BSN (SW) Property Ltd)

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: On appeal, His Honour Judge Paul Matthews (sitting as a Judge of the High Court) held that it was not a procedural irregularity for the judge at first instance to go on and hear the bankruptcy petition, after he had dismissed an application to set aside an earlier order. The question of procedural irregularity is one of substance not of form. The judicial act of deciding what to hear, and when, is not hamstrung by the administrative act by the court staff of publishing a list of matters to be heard on a particular occasion. The court also reviewed the law on when a guarantee creates a debt in a liquidated sum, which was another of the six grounds of appeal. When acting for the creditor, consider whether the next hearing can be used to hear the petition. When acting for the debtor, raise any objections to hearing the petition at the time. Written by Robert Machell, barrister at Enterprise Chambers.

Restructuring & Insolvency weekly highlights—10 July 2025

This week's edition of Restructuring & Insolvency weekly highlights includes: an examination of the test for ‘residence’ (Mobile Telecommunications Company KSCP v HRH Prince Hussam Bin Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud) and the test for ‘carrying on business’ (Bridging Finance Inc (acting by its receiver/manager Pricewaterhouse Coopers Inc) v Lyons) in the context of bankruptcy jurisdiction, a look at the Association for Business Recovery Professionals’ (R3) response to the Insolvency Service's update on the Personal Insolvency Framework Review, plus a round-up of other news and cases for restructuring and insolvency professionals.

Court rules on meaning of ‘Place of Residence’ in bankruptcy jurisdiction appeal (Mobile Telecommunications Company KSCP v HRH Prince Hussam Bin Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud)

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: In Mobile Telecommunications Company (‘the Company’), the Court of Appeal (Lord Justice Newey, Lord Justice Snowden and Lady Justice Whipple) was asked to decide if the High Court had been right to dismiss a bankruptcy petition presented by the Company. The Company and Prince Hussam, a member of the Saudi royal family, had been in dispute for a number of years over unpaid arbitration awards amounting to around US$900m. The question for the Court was whether Prince Hussam had ‘a place of residence in England and Wales’ for the purposes of section 265(2)(b)(i) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). The court considered that there was no realistic prospect of the Company persuading the court to reverse the High Court’s findings of fact. This decision will primarily be of interest to those who undertake bankruptcy work, but the discussion regarding the test of residence will also be helpful to civil practitioners more broadly. Written by Elizabeth Grace, barrister at Outer Temple Chambers.

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