COVID-19 in the UK – new rules for winding-up

The UK government has lifted the current restrictions on statutory demands but imposed new temporary requirements for winding-up petitions presented from 1 October 2021 until 31 March 2022. The measures aim to protect companies from aggressive creditor enforcement as the economy opens up and other protections are lifted.

New requirements 

• A creditor must send a notice to the company giving it 21 days to respond with proposals for paying the debt. 
• The debt owed must be at least £10,000.
• A creditor may not present a winding-up petition for commercial rent unless it can prove that the non-payment of the debt is not related to the pandemic. 

The continued restriction on winding-up petitions related to commercial rent arrears will allow time for the implementation of a new binding arbitration process. It's also in line with prohibitions on commercial landlords forfeiting leases for non-payment of rent and on the use of commercial rent arrears recovery until 25 March 2022. 

Key takeaways 

Debtors have some temporary protection from aggressive enforcement but now is the time to address debt issues and make plans for the end of restrictions in March 2022. Creditors must seek payment proposals from debtor businesses before commencing winding up actions and be ready to explain to the court why any proposals are unsatisfactory.

Find out more

To discuss these new measures further, please reach out to a member of our Restructuring & Insolvency team.