Company law heavyweight Erskine Chambers has particular strength in areas where insolvency meets banking and finance or civil fraud. The liquidation of Carillion led to some of chambers’ most notable work in this area, Andrew Thompson KC acting for its five non-executive directors and James Potts KC representing its former finance director in directors’ disqualification proceedings. CVAs have been a notable trend and leading insolvency silk Peter Arden KC has led Ben Shaw KC on a number of these, including acting for a group of landlords challenging the New Look CVA, the leading case on CVAs in the retail industry.

‘One of the most prestigious sets for insolvency work‘. barristers at 4 Stone Buildings often draw on broad company and commercial law expertise in a variety of insolvencies and cases with complex elements involving that area. Jonathan Crow KC is the standout silk in this discipline, with ample experience at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, as well as a considerable practice offshore. In proceedings regarding property investor Glenn Maud, John Brisby KC, with Richard Hill KC and leading Alastair Tomson, has been representing an opposing creditor in what, if the creditors are successful, are believed to be the second most valuable personal bankruptcy proceedings ever to be heard in the UK. The recent high-profile proceedings following the collapse of Bell Pottinger have also involved members of the set: Tiran Nersessian representing the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and Christopher Harrison acting for the firm’s former CEO, on opposite sides of a director disqualification action resulting from the insolvency.

‘A powerhouse for insolvency, with real strength across the board‘, Maitland Chambers acts in disputes that arise in a vast range of industries, from small-scale insolvencies of individuals and local businesses, to complex, global insolvencies and associated asset recovery. Catherine Addy KC appeared for Carillion, acting by the official receiver as its liquidator, in FCA v Carillion PLC (in liquidation), an appeal coming out of the demise of the construction and facilities management company. A number of members are involved in the landmark Greensill administration, and a further highlight has Matthew Collings KC acting for the joint administrators in the £237m insolvency of London Capital & Finance.

With ‘real strength in insolvency, company and partnership work‘ Serle Court barristers are a frequent presence in some of the market’s key cases. In State Bank of India v Mallya, the UK’s largest individual insolvency proceedings, Philip Marshall KC has led James Mather representing Vijay Mallya, the chairman of United Breweries Group whose extradition for alleged financial crimes is requested by the Indian government, in defending bankruptcy proceedings. Among the cases arising from energy company insolvencies in 2021, Lance Ashworth KC acted for the liquidators of Economy Energy Ltd in disputes arising from the appointment by Ofgem of a Supplier of Last Resort to take over the supply of electricity and gas to customers of the supplier.

‘Strong chancery and insolvency chambers‘ XXIV Old Buildings has a particularly notable presence offshore where Stephen Moverley Smith KC is among the most active lead counsels in standout insolvencies. Head of chambers Elspeth Talbot Rice KC is instructed in the high profile insolvent estate of Boris Berezovsky, as well as recently acting in proceedings arising from the liquidation of Stanford International Bank in Antigua.

‘A great choice for work on the cross-over of insolvency and financial services‘, 3 Verulam Buildings is an experienced set for various matters with a party in insolvency. In TMO Renewables Ltd v Yeo & others, commercial disputes specialist Andrew Sutcliffe KC acted for the liquidators of the company in a £25m claim against its former directors, who include Major-era government minister Tim Yeo,  for fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty. Offshore insolvencies continued to be a key part of Matthew Hardwick KC, acting in the BVI and other jurisdictions. On the junior side, Philip Hinks has continued to act as sole counsel in a number of matters, including a high value breach of fiduciary duty claim brought by liquidators against the directors of The Video Duplicating Company, one the UK’s biggest manufacturers of CDs and DVDs.

Complex insurance sector insolvencies have been a recent feature of Enterprise Chambers, a set seen as ‘a very good choice for insolvency instructions‘. One such case, Kireeva v Bedzhamov; Vneshprombank LLC v Bedzhamov and others has seen Stephen Davies KC acting for the bankruptcy trustee of the defendant, the Court of Appeal decision expected to have far-reaching consequences in cross-border cases. Niall McCulloch appearing unled in Michael J Lonsdale (Electrical) Ltd v Bresco Electrical Services Ltd ((in Liquidation)), the seminal case on the use of adjudication for the administration of construction insolvencies, was another highlight.

This has been an area of growth for Gatehouse Chambers over recent years and the set now has ‘a breadth of talent in insolvency‘ that it employs in a variety of claims. Jonathan Titmuss has a substantial international practice and a niche in a plethora of cases coming out of failed hotel room schemes. Wendy Parker acted in a number of multi-million pound trials over the last year, and Sarah Clarke continued to hold her own in key insolvency cases against silks.

Radcliffe Chambers ‘deals with a wide range of insolvency matters‘ and members are increasingly instructed in corporate insolvency matters and in cases with international elements. 2022 silk Matthew Weaver KC appeared in Carraway Guildford (Nominee A) Ltd & others v Regis UK Limited, advising the joint supervisors of a high-profile retail CVA of Regis Salons, which was challenged by 19 of its landlords. Christopher Boardman KC , who took silk in 2020, has been advising the administrators of Transform Medical Group in a case arising from the group litigation concerning unfit for purpose PIP breast implants.

Wilberforce Chambers fields teams of counsel that cover multi-disciplinary cases and have ‘become a force in the insolvency world‘. In 2021 chambers was further strengthened in this field with the additions of both Sri Carmichael and Jessica Brooke, and they join a set that includes Clare Stanley KC, and experienced insolvency silk in both onshore and offshore courts. Her recent caseload has included Al Jaber and others v Mitchell and others, where she acted for the successful appellants in a $1bn fraud/insolvency claim by liquidators.

‘The foremost insolvency and restructuring chambers‘, South Square continues to impress with a host of silks and juniors involved in the most significant and thorny issues in the market. Multiple barristers from chambers have been involved in the high-profile collapse of supply chain finance funder Greensill Capital: Glen Davis KC leading Matthew Abraham acting for Credit Suisse Asset Management, and on the opposite side for the administrators, David Allison KC leads Ryan Perkins. Chambers has also been involved in key cases regarding CVAs, one of the most notable being Caffé Nero’s successful defence of its CVA, where they were represented by Tom Smith KC leading Henry Phillips, Adam Al-Attar appearing on the opposite side for the EG Group. Energy company administrations were a major feature of the 2021 workload too, and again members of chambers were a regular fixture in the most significant. In the case of Bulb Energy Limited, which at the time of its collapse was the UK’s seventh biggest electricity supplier, Mark Arnold KC acted for the proposed administrators, leading Richard Fisher KC and Henry Phillips.