Restructuring Plans

Spurred on by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the government pushed through the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA 2020).

Among the reforms, CIGA 2020, s 7 and Sch 9 introduced a Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006)—Arrangements and Reconstructions for Companies in Financial Difficulty (an RP). In June 2022, the Government’s review concluded that the RP has largely met its objectives.

On 23 January 2024, the Court of Appeal handed down its decision in Re AGPS BondCo plc; sub nom Strategic Value Capital Solutions Master Fund LP v AGPS BondCo plc, setting aside the previous sanction order for the restructuring plan. Snowden LJ delivered the leading judgment (with which Nugee LJ and Sir Nicholas Patten agreed) and held that the RP was unfair because it was contrary to the pari passu principle. Snowden LJ gives guidance on many aspects of RPs including (among other things): time-tabling, classes, fair allocation of the restructuring surplus, how cross class cramdown (CCCD) should be applied and the horizontal and vertical comparators. The court also cautioned that ED&F Man is not authority for