PPP update: April 2022

11 May 2022

Spring has brought a wave of new beginnings for R3, with a new President in office and planning for our first in-person Annual Conference in three years in full swing.

And with continued media and parliamentary interest in the profession and its work, April, like the months which preceded it, was a busy one the PPP team.

New President takes office

At the end of April, we were delighted to announce Christina Fitzgerald’s appointment as President of R3.

Christina, who is Partner in Edwin Coe LLP's Restructuring & Insolvency team, will work to support the delivery of our Strategic Plan, our engagement with other parts of the profession and the different sectors that interact with our members, and our work with the Insolvency Service on diversity and inclusion.

Commenting on her appointment, Christina said, “I want to use my presidency to ensure that as many people as possible, from the media to parliamentarians to policymakers, understand just how valuable this [profession’s] work is to the wider economy.”

Annual Conference keynote speakers announced

R3’s Annual Conference is returns this May with a three day face-to-face conference, hosted by our new President, Christina Fitzgerald.

The conference programme covers a wide range of sessions, and represents all UK regions and nations and all levels of the profession, providing attendees with the opportunity to gain insight into the latest developments and future challenges affecting the profession.

Last month, the keynote speakers were confirmed. On day one of the Conference, BBC News Economic Editor Faisal Islam will hold a session on key economic trends, and on day three, in light of the Government’s recent insolvency regulation consultation, Insolvency Service Chief Executive Dean Beale will discuss the future of the insolvency and restructuring profession.

We are looking forward to seeing members at the conference, and will be summarising key points from the sessions in our blog later this month those who aren’t able to attend.

Working with Westminster

In April we engaged with a range of parliamentarians on a number of important policy topics such as Companies House reform, where we reiterated the importance of the Government implementing these reforms as soon as possible, and for R3’s additional recommendations to be included.

Energy supplier insolvencies have been a much-discussed issue of recent and last month we liaised with parliamentarians who have raised questions on energy insolvencies and sent out a briefing summarising some of the issues.

We also briefed parliamentarians with a summary of our views on the regulation consultation, and have also briefed a range of stakeholders about this issue.

R3 in the media

Colin Haig, R3 Immediate Past President, was quoted in Accounting Web about the recent sharp rise in insolvencies in the transport industry, while R3 Vice President Nicky Fisher’s views on director responsibilities featured in an article discussing the Digme Fitness insolvency in the Times.

News of the end of various COVID-19 related restrictions, including a the minimum threshold for winding up petitions returning to £750, was well received regionally including articles in Southern Daily Echo, Yorkshire Post and Lancashire Post.

Towards the end of April the Q4 Scotland figures were published and R3 in Scotland Chair Richard Bathgate’s comments featured in articles in the Herald, Scottish Business News and trade publications like Credit Connect.

Meanwhile, R3 President Christina Fitzgerald's comments on the statistics for Q1 received good pick-up, and were mentioned in pieces in the FT, the Guardian business and PA as well as in a number of regional and trade titles.