Impact of ‘no deal’ Brexit on insolvency ‘deeply concerning’

13 September 2018

The potential impact of a 'no deal' Brexit on cross-border insolvency cases, as set out by the Government in a just-published technical note, is deeply concerning, says insolvency and restructuring trade body R3.

Commenting, Stuart Frith, R3 president, says:

"We would be deeply concerned about the impact of a 'no deal' on the UK's insolvency and restructuring framework. The strength of the UK's insolvency and restructuring framework partially depends on its pan-European reach. At the moment, EU regulations mean UK insolvency and restructuring procedures and judgments are automatically recognised across the EU - and vice versa. A loss of this recognition, as would happen in a 'no deal' situation, would be bad news for UK businesses and creditors.

"Reciprocal automatic recognition means it's relatively quick and cost effective to retrieve the assets of insolvent UK-based companies or individuals wherever those assets are in the EU. It means the insolvencies of companies with a presence across the EU can be dealt with through one insolvency procedure rather than several. This keeps costs down and increases the chances of business rescue, which, in turn, boosts returns to creditors.

"If the current EU-UK insolvency framework is not preserved post-Brexit then it will become much more expensive and difficult to resolve UK and EU insolvency cases where UK-EU cross-border work is required.

"This will jeopardise creditor returns, business and job rescue, lending and investment, and it will damage the UK's reputation as a place to do business.

"The insolvency and restructuring framework is there to provide businesses, lenders, and investors with the confidence that, in the event of an insolvency, they will see at least some of their money back. Adding barriers to this process where a UK company has a presence in the EU would damage confidence in trading with, lending to, and investing in that company.

"The Government has repeatedly outlined a desire to seek a post-Brexit agreement which closely reflects the principles of mutual cooperation that exist under the current EU framework. This is welcome and R3 is happy to support the Government's pursuit of its objective."