Policy and Public Affairs update: May 2025

30 May 2025

May has been a busy month for R3’s Policy and Public Affairs Team. While representing the profession at several events, the team have been keeping one eye on the Employment Rights Bill and organising key stakeholder roundtables. 

Roundtable recap

At the start of the month, the team hosted the R3 Special Situations M&A faculty roundtable with senior leaders from the worlds of insolvency, restructuring and private equity.

The meeting focused on an uptick in special situation activity, contrasted with a subdued mainstream market, and underlined the growing importance of clear, pragmatic advice as stakeholders navigate uncertainty and search for value in a slower, more cautious market. 

Looking at individual sectors, attendees highlighted consumer retail and EV charging infrastructure as active sectors, noting retail faces ongoing demand and cost pressures, while EV infrastructure benefits from strong investor interest but also faces challenges around project delivery and costs.

Meeting members in Malta

The team attended the R3 Annual Conference in Malta – engaging with members and updating them on upcoming parliamentary opportunities. This was also an opportunity to listen to members and find out more about their policy concerns and the key areas they feel R3’s voice is needed most.

Working in Westminster

Following the conference, the team were in and out of Parliament over two weeks, attending a summit hosted by the Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services All-Party Parliamentary Group alongside members of R3’s Fraud and Asset Recovery Group.

The summit focused on individuals who had been the victims of investment fraud scams, but were still being pursued by HMRC for tax debts incurred by making those investments. From pensioners to former footballers, several victims recounted harrowing stories of losses and the campaign to try and change their tax treatment. Hearing these discussions first-hand was a powerful reminder of the real-life impact of fraud, and underlined the importance of R3’s ongoing work to support efforts to recover assets and improve outcomes for victims.

Bill under review

The Employment Rights Bill continues through its committee stage in the House of Lords, where it faces line by line scrutiny. The policy and public affairs team have closely followed amendments related to collective redundancy and protective award claims.

The team will continue to keep the General Technical Committee and Employee Working Group up to date with the potential implications of these amendments as the Bill progresses through its final stages, and raise members’ concerns with Parliamentarians as they arise.

Policy in focus

The R3 Policy Group met this month for its quarterly meeting, bringing members together to discuss current issues affecting the restructuring, turnaround and insolvency landscape. Matthew Atkinson, interim CFO of the University of Nottingham, offered members an insight into the higher education sector, which has received significant press coverage due to financial distress at high-profile institutions. 

The group also discussed Part 26A restructuring plans, as R3 responds to a recently released judicial consultation on how they work in practice having been implemented five years ago. The discussion will help inform R3’s response and ensure the profession’s views are clearly reflected in it.

Engaging with the public sector

At the end of May, the team held the third R3 Public Sector Faculty Roundtable event, bringing members together with representatives from several government bodies. HMRC, Companies House and the Insolvency Service gave a joint presentation on their efforts to tackle phoenixism, the successive dissolution or liquidation of companies by the same directors to evade liabilities. This was followed by an insightful discussion on how inter-agency collaboration has grown over recent months and the role that the private sector can play in tackling the issue. 

A key takeaway from the roundtable was the shift towards data sharing between public bodies in suspected fraud cases, supported by new powers and a clear ministerial steer. R3 will now look to broaden the insights from the meeting and inform members of any future changes in when and how they should report suspicious activity to the authorities.