As MPs depart Westminster for the summer parliamentary recess, we are taking stock of an important piece of legislation for the insolvency and restructuring profession, and its progress so far through parliament.
As we reach the mid-point of 2021, the public affairs agenda continues to be busy, with the Government making a number of insolvency and restructuring-related policy announcements, deadlines for consultations and calls for evidence passing, and debates in parliament continuing.
The insolvency and restructuring profession plays a fundamental role in the UK economy. Research we published earlier this year showed that, in 2019, the profession rescued 7,200 businesses, returning an estimated £1.82 billion to creditors and saving an estimated 297,000 jobs in the process. It has also helped over 60,000 businesses and 144,000 people by providing qualified advice about the insolvency and restructuring options available to them.
After a year like no other, and with considerable uncertainty remaining about what will happen in coming months, directors and business owners could be forgiven for being unsure about the best path forwards.
The Covid pandemic has altered much of the UK’s – and the world’s – business environment out of all previous recognition. But one pre-pandemic phenomenon, that of the so-called ‘zombie’ business, has been brought into sharp focus, amidstfearsthat the conditions created by the Government’s response to the economic crisis has greatly increased the number of them.
James Jeffreys
Stuart McBride
Giorgio Buttironi
