The reform of UK insolvency and restructuring law has become a hot topic. Critics have long argued that the regime is too creditor-friendly and, compared to other jurisdictions, does not offer distressed companies sufficient protection or opportunity to rehabilitate themselves. The resulting ability of out-of-the-money stakeholders to impede any restructuring process makes the UK approach, at best, expensive, ineffective and inefficient.
In July the issue of reforming UK insolvency law took a political turn when David Cameron, the leader of the UK's Conservative Party, committed his party to importing the "best features" of US-style "Chapter 11" procedures, designed to afford protection to financially troubled businesses and allowing them greater opportunity to raise new finance. Mr. Cameron, like many business leaders, believes that Britain's insolvency system is not equipped to effectively handle a growing wave of insolvencies resulting from the current credit crunch.
What are the perceived weaknesses of the regime...