The Insolvency Service has published the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA 2020) interim report which summarises the reasons for the introduction of CIGA 2020, and considers the results of 'Stage One' which considered the data arising from a series of semi-structured interviews of various stakeholders. The Insolvency Service noted that 'Stage Two' will continue with some further interviews and involve an online survey of the insolvency practitioner profession. CIGA 2020 was introduced during the 2020 'lockdown' of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and contained two new and permanent, business rescue procedures forming the biggest change to corporate insolvency framework in nearly twenty years.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and is no longer maintained. This Practice Note brings together key content on coronavirus (COVID-19) published across Lexis®PSL that is likely to be of interest to Banking & Finance lawyers. It is updated regularly with news, practical guidance and analysis which cover the impact of COVID-19 developments. The subject areas covered are: • Force Majeure • Execution of documents • LIBOR • General lending • Leveraged finance • Asset finance • Project finance • Real estate finance • Trade and commodity finance • Debt capital markets • Derivatives • Structured products and securitisation • Financial services • Restructuring • Corporate • Scotland, and • International In addition, the Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—Banking & Finance frequently asked questions [Archived] considers questions that are frequently being asked by Banking & Finance practitioners in the current environment and brings together key content and resources published across Lexis®PSL. Force Majeure Date Content Summary 13 January 2021 Force majeure consequent on coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and notification injunctions (Fibula Air Travel v Just-US

Insurance & Reinsurance analysis: the High Court considered one of many topical insurance issues left unresolved by the recent Supreme Court ‘test case’ on business interruption insurance (The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd & Others [2021] UKSC 1), namely whether there was cover for losses arising from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic under a policy with a ‘closed list’ disease clause. The policy in question provided cover against the outbreak of a range of infectious diseases, including ‘Plague’ but not COVID-19. The policyholder argued that the word ‘Plague’ should be read as a general term for an infectious disease with a high mortality rate, epidemic or pandemic, such that loss caused by COVID-19 would be covered. The court rejected this interpretation and held that the word ‘Plague’ was intended to refer to the specific disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. The clause therefore did not cover loss caused by COVID-19 and the policyholder’s claim was struck out. Written by Martyn Naylor, barrister at 4 Pump Court Chambers. Martyn was instructed as junior counsel in the Supreme Court ‘test case’ and recently obtained summary judgment for an insurer in a ‘closed list’ disease clause case similar to the present.

This Practice Note focuses on the key legal considerations when a rights issue is being carried out by a company either: • admitted to listing on the official list of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (Official List) and to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) (Main Market) (listed company), or • admitted to trading on AIM, a market operated by the LSE (AIM company) (both a listed company and an AIM company being a company). For a description of the procedure for a rights issue, see Practice Note: Rights issue—procedure for a listed company. What is a rights issue? A rights issue involves a company: • making an offer of securities to its existing shareholders • in proportion to their holdings in the company • by means of the issue of a renounceable letter (or other negotiable document) (provisional allotment letter or PAL) The offer price will be payable in cash and is usually at a

Macfarlanes and Burness Paull advised Dobbies Garden Centres, the UK’s largest operator of garden centres, on its restructuring plan (RP) under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006), which was approved by Lord Braid in the Court of Session in Scotland on 9 December 2024. A RP is a procedure pursuant to which a company in financial difficulty can make a compromise or arrangement with its creditors to eliminate, reduce, prevent, or mitigate the effect of its financial difficulties. Such compromises and arrangements can take a variety of forms, including amendments and extensions of debt, debt for equity swaps and amendments to the terms of, and compromise of rent payable under, leases and other property-related liabilities. The RP process was introduced during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 to provide a new restructuring tool in the UK. While there is a great deal of similarity between the regime for RPs and

The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/1609 came into force on 18 December 2020 in exercise of the powers conferred by the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, and expire at the end of the day on 26 November 2021. The purpose of the Regulations are to set out various provisions and restrictions arising out of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/1609, Pt 3 (SI 2020/1609, reg 5) sets out the requirement for a person to isolate where a person tests positive for coronavirus or has close contact with such a person. ‘Close contact’ is defined by SI 2020/1609, reg 5(1) as meaning contact that a contact tracer considers may lead to a risk of infection or contamination with coronavirus,

In recent months, the global demand for construction products has exceeded supply, causing a shortage of materials that has put pressure on the UK construction sector. The materials affected include timber, steel, cement, paints, and electrical components. Several factors have contributed to this imbalance of supply and demand, including the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and the effects of Brexit. Under most forms of construction contract (including those in the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) and NEC suites), the Contractor is responsible for providing the goods and materials needed to complete the works. Many Contractors will therefore wish to confirm whether they are entitled to: • additional time to complete, to allow for delays caused by material shortages (eg where materials are unavailable or subject to unusually long lead or delivery times), and/or • recover their delay-related costs In this answer, we have considered the position under the JCT Standard Building Contract (SBC) 2016

AI in business In 2023, the world changed again. Much like coronavirus (COVID-19), the use of generative AI tools (GenAI) spread like a pandemic. Eager to achieve the efficiencies promised, people and organisations embraced these exciting new tools. With the mass adoption of such general-purpose technology, there is a danger people and businesses are being carried along with the wave without fully appreciating how GenAI works and what problems arise as a result. Instead, they rely on the tool to do the ‘thinking’ for them. GenAI tools do not ‘think’ in the traditional sense. The underpinning program of the tool ‘simply’ accesses the vast amount of data which it has been ‘fed’, identifies appropriate patterns within that data to produce a response which is statistically most relevant to the question asked. The main issue with using GenAI tools is not knowing where the data being accessed has come from. The subsidiary issue is: have

An introduction to the legislation Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 Expedited by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA 2020) was introduced to the House of Commons on 20 May 2020 and received royal assent on 25 June 2020. The aim of CIGA 2020 is to promote a rescue culture to ensure companies in financial difficulties have greater opportunities to restructure and avoid formal (more often than not, terminal) insolvency processes during the coronavirus crisis and beyond. It is therefore a comparatively debtor friendly piece of legislation. It legislated for temporary measures announced by the government as part of its coronavirus response but, more significantly, it introduced permanent new tools into the UK corporate insolvency and restructuring framework. In this Practice Note, we provide summary information on the changes to insolvency and restructuring law set out in CIGA 2020 with a view to drawing out key issues and discussion points

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note provides details of the various versions of withdrawn or replaced guidance and advice on Coronavirus (COVID-19) that have been published by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Cabinet Office, and provides tracked change versions, showing the updates between one version and the next, to enable practitioners easily to ascertain which version of the relevant guidance was live at any given date. It is not maintained and is for background information only. Separate sections of the Practice Note cover: • Get coronavirus tests for your employees • How to treat certain expenses and benefits provided to employees during coronavirus • HMRC guidance: Check if you can claim back Statutory Sick Pay paid to employees due to coronavirus (COVID-19) • UKHSA: people with COVID-19 and their contacts • Coronavirus: how to stay safe and help prevent the spread • HSE: Protect vulnerable workers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic • Managed quarantine: what to expect • DHSC:

CPR PD 51Z has been introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic in relation to possession proceedings, and is effective from 27 March 2020, automatically ceasing to have effect on 30 October 2020. It provides that all proceedings for possession brought under CPR 55 and all proceedings seeking to enforce an order for possession are stayed for a period of 90 days. In effect therefore extant possession claims and enforcement proceedings are automatically stayed. Additionally, by separate provision, from 26 March 2020 until 30 September 2020 (which may be extended) landlords must give three months’ notice to tenants if they intend to seek possession. There is nothing in the Practice Direction that prevents a

Face coverings Face coverings are not classed as personal protective equipment (PPE) as they: • are generally not manufactured to a recognised standard and not CE marked • do not provide a proven level of protection for work risks such as dust and spray. See Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance: Face coverings and face masks at work during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance also draws a distinction (see eg, the Visitor economy guide) between: • PPE, including face masks, and • face coverings The Cabinet Office guidance Face coverings: when to wear one, exemptions, and how to make your own lists the indoor settings in which a face covering must be worn and also that it is compulsory (from 24 September)