27. Working together
Working together
This section contains content published after 1 January 2020. Articles published before this date can be found on the National Archives here
An investigation into the conduct of the directors of Walsham Chalet Park Limited, which entered administration on 14 January 2019, has resulted in the Secretary of State accepting a disqualification undertaking from director Simon Moir for a period of 14 years commencing on 22 September 2020. The undertaking was accepted only 10 months after the case was allocated to the investigator, Peter Smith, and only 20 months after the company entered administration.
The main area of misconduct related to the mis-selling of investments in holiday chalets which were never built, resulting in losses to investors amounting to £14.2m. Simon Moir sold these lodges to 161 investors when he was, or should have been aware that there was no prospect of them being built. Furthermore, 30 of these investors paid the company £1.8m to the company for holiday chalets at a site which the company did not own at the time.
The Insolvency Service investigator worked closely with Paul Evans of Deloitte, the administrators, to achieve this outcome. A comprehensive meeting was held during which Paul provided an update about the progress of the administration, set out the various areas of alleged misconduct and went through the information that had come to light during their investigations. This meant that Peter was able to identify quickly, obtain and review the relevant evidence and field further questions and requests for information. This meant that the investigation progressed quickly and resulted in a timely outcome, thereby affording protection to future investors and the business community.
This case showed that collaboration between the Insolvency Service and insolvency practitioners really has a positive impact on the time it takes for the Insolvency Service to remove miscreant directors from the market place.
Enquiries regarding this article may be sent to: Business.DevelopmentTeam@insolvency.gov.uk
The Insolvency Service is launching a new ‘Academic Research and Technical Conference’ and we’re inviting interested parties to submit papers.
The conference – with a working title ‘Forward Thinking: Insolvency strategies for a post-pandemic economy’ – will take place on 19 November 2021 and the purpose is to:
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provide a platform for current insolvency research and technical discussion.
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facilitate a stronger link between academia, the insolvency sector and policy-makers.
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encourage comment and feedback from interested parties.
We are inviting Insolvency Practitioners to participate by submitting for presentation at the conference:
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an academic research paper, or
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a technical issue relating to insolvency practice.
Full details on how to make a submission can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/news/call-for-papers-insolvency-research-and-technical-conference
To register your interest in attending the conference as a delegate please email keverne.howell@insolvency.gov.uk
If you have any queries, please contact Laura Bardsley laura.bardsley@insolvency.gov.uk
The Insolvency Service and R3-led Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group is looking for enthusiastic insolvency professionals to become Diversity and Inclusion Champions as part of a network supporting the Steering Group’s action plan, published in December following a survey of R3 members.
The Steering Group was established in 2021 to bring together professionals within and connected to the insolvency sector to discuss, understand, and take action to address barriers to diversity and inclusion within the sector.
Anyone working within, or connected to, the insolvency profession can find more about the role, or the work of the group via the articles linked above, or by emailing the inbox, Insolvency.Diversity@insolvency.gov.uk. Social media support via retweeting or sharing posts via Insolvency Service and R3 accounts on Twitter and LinkedIn are also welcomed.
Any enquiries regarding this article should be directed towards email: Insolvency.Diversity@insolvency.gov.uk
We are pleased to announce that the next Forward Thinking Conference will be held at Nottingham Trent University on Friday 18 November 2022.
A further notice will be issued when registration is live. The hybrid event will allow for both physical and virtual attendance.
The call for abstracts of policy or technical papers on the theme ‘insolvency response in uncertain times’ closes on 31 August. Details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/forward-thinking-conference-call-for-papers.
The papers showcased and video recordings of the presentations at the last Forward Thinking Conference at Aston University have been published, and can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-insolvency-service-forward-thinking-conference.
Please note that as per individual authors’ requests, some papers will be published at a later date.
Any enquiries regarding this article should be directed towards conference@insolvency.gov.uk
The Forward Thinking conference facilitates links between academia, the insolvency sector and policymakers by providing a platform for current insolvency research to be presented, and a forum for technical discussion.
The theme for this year’s conference is “Insolvency Response in Uncertain Times”.
Eight papers will be presented in six sessions by key figures from academia and industry.
How to attend
To attend online, please book a ticket through Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/forward-thinking-insolvency-response-in-uncertain-times-tickets-438888646757. Online delegates are encouraged to pose questions.
There is a limited number of in-person tickets available for the event, which will be held at Nottingham Trent University. If you would like to attend in person, please email conference@insolvency.gov.uk to register your interest.
Agenda, papers and presenters
Each session will include time for questions and comments from both online and in-person delegates.
Welcome & opening addresses * Paul Bannister, Head of Policy, Insolvency Service * Cillian Ryan, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University * Mark Austen, Chair of the Insolvency Service Board
Session 1
- The dynamics of the cost-of-living crisis: desperation borrowing, the economic problem of the debt overhang, and the changing role of personal insolvency – Dr Katharina Möser, University of Birmingham
Session 2
- The effects of Insolvency Practitioner firms’ and secured financial creditors’ market share and their prior relationship on direct insolvency costs – Professor Yvonne Joyce and Dr Betty Wu, University of Glasgow
Session 3
- Enabling greater use of section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (‘IA86’), ‘Restriction on re-use of company names’ – Ben Luxford, Technical Director of R3, and Stewart Perry, Partner at Fieldfisher LLP
Session 4
- A multi-case study database of reporting matters in Insolvency Practitioner reports to creditors – Professor Yvonne Joyce, University of Glasgow, and Eileen Maclean, Insolvency Support Services
Session 5
- In the matter of Baglan Operations Limited [2022] EWHC 647 (Ch): The future of trading liquidations? – Philip Hertz, Melissa Coakley, Giles Allison and Robert Davey of Clifford Chance
- Communitarianism and the Public Interest in Large Corporate Insolvencies: Future Directions for Value and Potential in Commonweal Undertakings – Dr John Tribe, University of Liverpool
- Dealing with large insolvent companies where the public interest intrudes: some forward thinking - Professor Peter Walton, University of Wolverhampton and Professor Andrew Keay, University of Leeds
Session 6
- A thing that has no value does not exist – Dr Stephen Baister, Board Director of Manolete Partners
Closing Remarks
- Dean Beale, Chief Executive Officer of the Insolvency Service
Looking back at Forward Thinking 2021
Last year’s conference, with the theme Forward Thinking: Insolvency strategies for a post-pandemic economy was held at Aston University, Birmingham.
The papers and videos from the day can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-insolvency-service-forward-thinking-conference. Please note that as per individual authors’ requests, some papers will be published at a later date.
Any enquiries regarding this article should be directed towards conference@insolvency.gov.uk.