Edmonds Judd

liquidation

Voidable transactions

Commercial, Your Own Business
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Liquidator can claw back payments

The number of companies going into liquidation in New Zealand is on the rise after a Covid lull. According to Centrix,[1] 642 companies were placed into liquidation during the second quarter of 2024. This represents a year-on-year increase of 19%.

 

Most people in business know there is a substantial risk of not being paid by a company that goes into liquidation unless they have a secured debt. However, a payment made by a company before it goes into liquidation may also be at risk.

 

The liquidator can ‘claw back’ a payment made by the company to a creditor up to six months before the company was placed into liquidation by its shareholders or liquidation proceedings were filed in the High Court.[2] The liquidator may claw back the payment if it was made at a time when the company could not pay its debts, and the payment enabled the creditor to receive more than they would have received in the liquidation. Such a payment is known as a ‘voidable transaction.’

 

Pari passu rule

If a company has insufficient assets to meet all its debts, its available assets should be divided between its creditors in proportion to the debts they are owed. This is known as the pari passu rule.

 

There are several limits on the liquidator’s power to unwind voidable transactions. These are intended to strike a balance between upholding the pari passu rule and the conflicting objective of encouraging businesses to continue to trade out of their difficulties when facing financial problems.

 

Running account exception

The running account exception is one significant limitation on the liquidator’s power to claw back voidable transactions. It requires the liquidator to consider the net effect of a series of transactions between a creditor and the company, and to treat this as a single transaction.

 

In practice, if a company has a trading account with your business before it goes into liquidation, then any amount your business receives during the six months prior to liquidation that exceeds the value of any goods or services supplied during this period may be treated as a voidable transaction. For example, suppose your business supplies $10,000 worth of goods to a company during the six months before it is placed into liquidation, and you receive payments totalling $15,000 during the same period. Of that $15,000, $5,000 of the money you received went towards the debt that existed before the start of the six-month period. In that case, it is possible that a payment of $5,000 to your business was a voidable transaction, but the rest is safe.

 

The effect of the running account exception is that your business can keep any payment received for any goods or services supplied during the six months before liquidation.

 

Section 296 defence

This section[3] contains a ‘good faith’ defence available to creditors facing a claim to repay a voidable transaction. This statutory defence has three elements that must be satisfied:

 

  1. The creditor must have acted in good faith
  2. There was no reason for them to suspect the company was insolvent, and
  3. They gave something of value for the payment or changed their position due to the payment. The value does not have to be provided at the same time as the payment.

 

The claw back procedure

The Companies Act sets out the procedure a liquidator must follow when seeking to claw back a payment.

 

If the liquidator cannot resolve the issues through correspondence with the creditors, the liquidator may issue a formal notice to set aside the transaction. The recipient has 20 working days to respond to the notice. If they do not respond, the payment automatically becomes a voidable transaction at the end of this period and must be paid back. If the recipient does respond, then the liquidator may still apply to the court to set aside the payment.

 

It is difficult to fully protect your business from claw backs for voidable transactions. One option is to seek a security or personal guarantee at the start of any trading relationship. You should talk with us before continuing to trade with a company you suspect may have financial difficulties,

or if you are contacted by liquidators seeking to claw back a payment.

[1] Centrix August 2024 Credit Indicator Report.

[2] Section 292, Companies Act 1993.

[3] Section 296, Companies Act 1993.

 

 

DISCLAIMER: All the information published in Commercial eSpeaking is true and accurate to the best of the authors’ knowledge. It should not be a substitute for legal advice. No liability is assumed by the authors or publisher for losses suffered by any person or organisation relying directly or indirectly on this newsletter. Views expressed are those of individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the view of Edmonds Judd. Articles appearing in Commercial eSpeaking may be reproduced with prior approval from the editor and credit given to the source.
Copyright, NZ LAW Limited, 2022.     Editor: Adrienne Olsen.       E-mail: [email protected].       Ph: 029 286 3650

Receivership, voluntary administration and liquidation

Commercial, Property, Your Own Business
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What are the differences?

It’s been a challenging time for many businesses since the pandemic hit our shores. If you find your company in financial difficulty, you may be forced to make some difficult decisions.

This may involve receivership, voluntary administration or liquidations – but what are the differences?

 

Receivership

Receivership occurs where a receiver (typically a licensed insolvency practitioner who may also be a chartered accountant) is appointed to deal with secured assets or manage the business of a company for the benefit of the secured creditors.

 

A receiver can be appointed by a court order or by a secured creditor under the terms of a deed or agreement, under which a contractual right to appoint a receiver has been granted by the company (or any other entity).

 

The specific powers of a receiver include the right to demand and recover income of the property in receivership, issue receipts, manage property and inspect any documents relating to the property. The receiver may also have additional rights in the deed or agreement under which it has been appointed.

 

The receiver’s primary duty is to try and bring about a situation in which debts are repaid, and the company’s property is managed – not for the benefit of the company, but for the secured creditors. To do so, a receiver will collect and sell one or more secured assets on behalf of a secured creditor, and manage other preferential claims against the company. The directors of a company in receivership have restricted powers. They must co-operate with the receiver so that the financial affairs of the business can be resolved fairly and equitably. Directors must provide company accounts, records and other information required by the receiver.

 

Voluntary administration

Voluntary administration is an option aimed at giving a business the opportunity to survive and avoid liquidation. An administrator can sometimes save a failing business; administrators are generally appointed by the company directors to deal with all a company’s creditors and its affairs.

 

In considering whether voluntary administration is an option for the company, directors must weigh up whether it has the support of creditors, and whether creditors are likely to gain more financial benefit from the company avoiding liquidation and continuing to trade.

 

Other considerations include the extent of the company’s debt, the attitudes of suppliers, its history with creditors and the availability of cash flow.

 

Liquidation

In receivership and administration situations, there is a chance a business can be saved and return to normal trading. Liquidation, however, is the end of the road.

 

Previously known as ‘winding up’, liquidation can be voluntary or compulsory. The main reason a company will face compulsory liquidation is if it is unable to pay its debts and it is insolvent. A voluntary liquidation can be used if the shareholders want to cease trading.

 

A liquidator’s principal duty is to preserve and protect the company’s assets to enable distribution to its creditors and, in a solvent liquidation, its shareholders.

 

Liquidators will recover what they can and distribute the proceeds to a company’s preferential, secured and unsecured creditors and, in a solvent liquidation, to its shareholders. Although the liquidator has control of the assets, the company keeps ownership of them and holds the assets on trust for the creditors. When the liquidation is complete the company is removed  from the Companies Register.

 

Ask for guidance

When your business is facing financial strife, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. We recommend you contact us for guidance to support you through the process.

 

 

DISCLAIMER: All the information published in Fineprint is true and accurate to the best of the authors’ knowledge. It should not be a substitute for legal advice. No liability is assumed by the authors or publisher for losses suffered by any person or organisation relying directly or indirectly on this newsletter. Views expressed are those of individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the view of Edmonds Judd. Articles appearing in Fineprint may be reproduced with prior approval from the editor and credit given to the source.
Copyright, NZ LAW Limited, 2022.     Editor: Adrienne Olsen.       E-mail: [email protected].       Ph: 029 286 3650

Ensure your Terms of Trade are robust

Latest news
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Despite a post-quake construction boom in Christchurch, an unprecedented number of building firms are going bust. Reports surfaced earlier this year of almost 100 rebuild-related companies having been placed into liquidation since the February 2011 earthquake, owing tens of millions of dollars. Some relatively high profile companies have fallen victim in recent times, emphasising that even large, well-established businesses are not immune to poor management and the vagaries of the rebuild market.

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