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Directors involved in the collapse of British Home Stores in 2016 have now been held to account in a landmark ruling in the High Court for wrongful trading, individual misfeasance and – a novel concept, considered for the first time in this case – ‘misfeasance trading’ under insolvency and company law. The 533-page ruling is packed with guidance and lessons for practitioners and their corporate and director clients, including key issues such as the extent to which professional advisers are responsible for advising directors that there is no reasonable prospect of their company avoiding insolvent liquidation or administration, when the novel concept of ‘misfeasance trading’ – where the ‘creditor duty’, confirmed and clarified by the Supreme Court in 2022 in the Sequana case - applies to directors’ activities which are ‘egregious’, ‘insolvency-deepening’ and ‘degenerative’, and how to avoid it, including the importance of proper board decision-making processes and records.

In this course David Impey covers the following topics:

• Wrongful trading lessons for directors of companies in financial trouble
• Guidance on how to approach the statutory wrongful trading ‘every step’ defence
• The extent to which directors can (and can’t!) rely on your professional advice on the prospects of avoiding insolvent liquidation
• The novel concept of ‘misfeasance trading’ – what it is and how to avoid it
• The importance of board meetings, discussion and minutes and records