UK Cross-Border Insolvency and Restructuring Law

Author

Gerard McCormack

ISBN: 9781035339754

Published: August 2026

Format: Hardback

Language: English

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Description

UK insolvency and restructuring law was built for a domestic caseload, but a large share of the distressed companies and groups that use it now hold assets, creditors or operations overseas. This book examines how well UK procedures actually travel: how foreign proceedings are recognised inbound in the UK, how UK liquidations, administrations, CVAs, schemes and standalone moratoriums are recognised outbound in other jurisdictions, and where the legislation simply stops addressing the problem.

Gerard McCormack works through the extra-territoriality provisions of the Insolvency Act, the recognition of UK schemes and plans under the Hague and Brussels/Lugano frameworks, the CBIR/Model Law regime including its discretionary relief, Section 426 of the Insolvency Act as a standalone vehicle for international cooperation, and the uncertain future of common law recognition following the Gibbs rule.

Written as the UK's post-Brexit divergence from the EU Recast Insolvency Regulation continues to bed in, the book is a single, current reference for anyone advising on where a UK insolvency or restructuring procedure will and will not have effect abroad.

Key Features

• Gives cross-border insolvency counsel a chapter-by-chapter map of when foreign proceedings will be recognised in the UK and when UK procedures will be recognised abroad
• Explains the CBIR/Model Law regime, including discretionary relief, in enough procedural detail to use directly when advising on a live recognition application
• Sets out Section 426 of the Insolvency Act as a distinct, often overlooked route to international judicial cooperation
• Assesses the future of the common law Gibbs rule on debt discharge, a live question for any restructuring involving English law-governed debt
• Supports advisors structuring multinational restructurings who need to know in advance where a UK scheme or plan will actually bind foreign creditors

Coverage

General principles of UK insolvency and restructuring procedures; UK restructuring procedures; extra-territoriality and the Insolvency Act; international application of liquidation, administration and CVAs; international application and recognition of schemes, plans and standalone moratoriums; the CBIR/Model Law regime and its discretionary relief; Section 426 of the Insolvency Act; UK cross-border insolvency and restructuring law under the common law.

About the Author

Gerard McCormack is Professor of International Business Law at the University of Leeds, UK, and a widely published authority on UK and comparative insolvency and restructuring law.

Table of Contents

• 1. General principles of UK insolvency and restructuring procedures
• 2. UK restructuring procedures
• 3. Extra-territoriality and the UK Insolvency Act
• 4. International application: liquidation, administration and CVAs
• 5. International application and recognition: schemes/plans and standalone moratoriums
• 6. The CBIR/Model Law regime: general principles
• 7. The CBIR/Model Law regime: relief including discretionary relief
• 8. Section 426 Insolvency Act: a statutory vehicle for international cooperation
• 9. UK cross-border insolvency and restructuring law and the common law

Why buy this book?

Most UK insolvency texts treat cross-border effect as a short final chapter. This is the reverse: a full-length, single-author treatment of exactly where UK insolvency and restructuring law reaches beyond its own borders, written at a moment when that question is being tested in the courts more often than at any point since Brexit.

Keywords

UK cross-border insolvency, CBIR Model Law, extra-territoriality, Gibbs rule, international restructuring, Section 426 Insolvency Act, scheme of arrangement recognition

Target Audience

insolvency and restructuring lawyers, cross-border finance counsel, academic law libraries, the judiciary, law students studying international insolvency

Genre

Insolvency and Restructuring Law, International Commercial Law, UK Law

Q&A

What is the CBIR/Model Law regime and how does it apply in UK insolvency cases?
The Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations implement the UNCITRAL Model Law in the UK, giving foreign insolvency representatives a route to seek recognition and relief, including discretionary relief, before UK courts.

How does UK insolvency law apply to overseas assets and foreign creditors?
UK liquidations, administrations and CVAs can have extra-territorial reach under the Insolvency Act, but the extent to which foreign courts and creditors actually recognise that reach depends on the recognition framework in each foreign jurisdiction.

What is the Gibbs rule and why is its future uncertain?
The Gibbs rule holds that a foreign insolvency discharge cannot extinguish a debt governed by English law unless the creditor submits to that foreign process — a common law principle increasingly criticised as out of step with modern cross-border restructuring.

How does Section 426 of the Insolvency Act support international cooperation?
Section 426 gives UK courts a statutory basis to assist courts in certain other jurisdictions with insolvency proceedings, operating alongside, and sometimes instead of, the CBIR/Model Law regime.

Where can I buy UK Cross-Border Insolvency and Restructuring Law?
UK Cross-Border Insolvency and Restructuring Law is available now from CLNZ Books, with worldwide shipping included and institutional invoicing available on request.

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