Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP has successfully represented Shane McCarthy of KPMG Ireland, and Tony O’Grady, Kevin Gahan, Brendan Colgan and Julie Murphy O’Connor of Matheson LLP, in obtaining assistance from the High Court of Justice, England and Wales pursuant to section 426 of the Insolvency Act 1986.

The company, Silverpail, went into an Irish examinership in December 2022, following Covid 19-related financial difficulties. On 31 March 2023, the High Court in Ireland confirmed a scheme of arrangement which had been proposed by the Irish Examiner and issued a Letter of Request to the High Court of England & Wales, asking that the company's English and Welsh creditors also be bound by this scheme in accordance with Irish law. In this most recent High Court decision, Mr Justice Peter Roth followed the approach taken by Mr Justice Rattee in Re Business City Express Ltd ([1997] 2 BCLC 510), and agreed to grant the assistance sought by the Letter of Request.

"This is a significant decision, and provides welcome clarity on available approaches for Irish cross-border restructurings post-Brexit," said Tal Goldsmith, partner, Stephenson Harwood. "Now, with the routes to effective cross border co-operation in insolvency matters relating to the UK significantly narrowed for EU states, it is time to revisit older jurisdictional gateways. In this case Ireland's special status as the only Member State that is a relevant country for the purposes of section 426 meant the High Court was able to assist in the implementation of successful restructuring measures."

The Stephenson Harwood team was led by restructuring and insolvency partner Tal Goldsmith, who worked alongside Charlotte Cooke of South Square.

Stephenson Harwood's multi-jurisdictional restructuring and insolvency team advises a wide array of stakeholders on all issues arising in connection with financial distress and on any cross-border issues. To find out more about the team, and its expertise, click here.