Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Insolvency definition

What does Insolvency mean? In practice, insolvency describes a financial state where a debtor cannot meet liabilities when due, triggering remedies such as administration, liquidation or bankruptcy and informing directors’ duties and avoidance claims. For companies in England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Insolvency Act 1986, s 123 sets two alternative tests: - Cash‑flow insolvency: an inability to pay debts as they fall due. The inquiry is practical and forward‑looking, not confined to today’s bills (Re Patrick & Lyon Ltd [1933] Ch 786; BNY Corporate Trustee Services Ltd v Eurosail [2013] UKSC 28). - Balance‑sheet insolvency: liabilities (including contingent and prospective liabilities) exceed assets on...

Retail-sector CVAs: restructuring rents and leases, landlord rights, challenges and key case law

Published by a LexisNexis Restructuring & Insolvency expert

Practice notes

Introduction to company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)

A CVA offers a lifeline to a company under financial strain by enabling it to reorganise its liabilities. Unlike other Insolvency routes, the Directors retain control and the business broadly trades as usual, subject to oversight by an insolvency practitioner (the Supervisor). A CVA constitutes a statutory agreement between the company and its creditors, designed to secure a better outcome than a move into a formal insolvency process. Funding for the proposals may take the form of a single lump‑sum contribution or a fixed timetable of instalments across a set term (typically 1–5 years). Where 75% or more in value of the company’s creditors approve the proposals, they become binding on all unsecured creditors, including those who (1) opposed them and (2) were entitled to vote but did not receive notice of the decision procedure/meeting, as applicable. After a CVA takes effect, a creditor is prevented from taking action against the company to:

recover any debt within the remit of the CVA (CVA Debt), or
enforce any rights against the company that arise...

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Cathryn E. Williams

Crowell & Moring

Cathryn Williams is a partner in Crowell & Moring's Corporate Group in the firm's London office, having moved to Crowell from the London office of Squire Patton Boggs where she worked for more than 2 decades. She has spent many years in the restructuring space, with particular experience in the asset-based lending sector. Cathryn acts for various clients in the financial sector, including banks, financiers, insolvency practitioners, officeholders, corporations, and distressed lenders in all aspects of non-contentious and contentious insolvency, restructuring, fraud, and asset recovery. She has deep experience in all aspects of restructuring, formal insolvencies, insolvent business sales and purchases, and insolvency litigation. Cathryn has worked with businesses in a wide variety of industries, including retail, manufacturing, technology, construction, food and beverage, film and television production, and smart card production. Over the span of her career, Cathryn has worked on a number of...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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