This unique book provides readers with a concise yet rigorous outline of the English corporate insolvency framework as it is practised in domestic and cross-border cases. In doing so, this primer provides clear and accessible guidance on what is often considered to be a highly technical subject.

Vanessa Finch provides an interesting look at corporate insolvency laws and processes. She adopts an interdisciplinary approach to place two questions at the centre of her discussion. Are current UK laws and procedures efficient, expert, accountable and fair? Are fundamentally different conceptions of insolvency law needed for it to develop in a way that serves corporate and broader social ends? Topics considered in this wide-ranging book include different ways of financing companies, causes of corporate failure and prospects for designing rescue-friendly processes. Also examined are alternative asset distribution of failed companies, allocations of insolvency risks and effects of insolvency on a company's directors and employees. Finch argues that changes of approach are needed if insolvency law is to develop with coherence and purpose. This book will appeal to academics and students at advanced undergraduate and graduate level, and to legal practitioners throughout the common law world.

This unique book provides readers with a concise yet rigorous outline of the English corporate insolvency framework as it is practised in domestic and cross-border cases. In doing so, this primer provides clear and accessible guidance on what is often considered to be a highly technical subject. Throughout the book, Eugenio Vaccari and Emilie Ghio demonstrate how to successfully navigate the uncharted waters of the significantly revised English corporate insolvency rules and procedures. Chapters answer foundational questions in insolvency law, such as: How are companies liquidated in England? How and why are they rescued and restructured? What happens when a company is liquidated or restructured, but has assets and creditors in England and abroad? The book also includes a comprehensive analysis of the sweeping and far-reaching changes to the regulatory framework introduced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Providing a blend of accessible but detailed guidance and critical discussion, the hybrid nature of English Corporate Insolvency Law: A Primer will make the book an ideal companion for students, practitioners (especially new entrants to the profession) and researchers in the fields of company and insolvency law, both within England and internationally.

Covering the subject of insolvency law, this text contains detailed academic analysis where necessary and also covers areas of debate and controversy in the subject. Insolvency is set in its social, economic and historical context and brief extracts for judgements and statutes are given.

This text explores in depth the fundamental principles of corporate insolvency law and the many conceptual and analytical problems posed by the legislation and offers both theoretical and practical solutions.

Comparative Insolvency Law argues that the most important development in contemporary insolvency law and practice is the shift towards a rescue culture rather than full creditor satisfaction. This book is the first to specifically examine the rise of the pre-pack approach, which permits debtor companies to formulate a clear pre-arranged exit before entering into formal insolvency proceedings.

This volume analyses corporate insolvency law as a coherent whole, stemming from common fundamental principles and amenable to being justified or criticised on that basis. The author explains why consistency of principle must be sought and how it might be found in the relevant statutory and case law. He then constructs an egalitarian theory for the analysis of corporate insolvency law, based on the premise that all the parties affected by this law are to be treated as equals. He argues that this theory can reconcile the dictates of fairness with the demands of economic efficiency. The theory is employed to analyse some of the most important aspects of insolvency law. Why should the individualistic method of enforcing claims against solvent companies give way to a collective method during insolvency? Why are there different formal mechanisms for dealing with troubled companies? What role does the pari passu principle play in the distribution of an insolvent company s assets?The controversial issues of whether and when secured creditors should be accorded priority over others receive detailed consideration. The functional role of the floating charge and its relationship with receivership are also analysed in this context. The many questions relating to the operation of the new administration procedure introduced by the Enterprise Act 2002 are considered in the light of principle. The book also analyses the role of the wrongful trading provisions. It examines, finally, why insolvency law objects to certain transactions at an undervalue and those having a preferential effect. This volume aims to enhance understanding of this important branch of the law, and to suggest principled solutions to problems which have not yet received judicial attention.