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Debt restructuring disputes: High Court orders pre-action disclosure against security agent despite confidentiality; guidance on CPR 31.16, information asymmetries and targeted document classes (England and Wales)

Published on: 25 March 2026

Published by a LexisNexis Restructuring & Insolvency expert
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Article summary

The Parties listed at Schedule 1 to the N244 v Kroll Trustee Services [2026] EWHC 216 (Ch)

What are the practical implications of this case?

This ruling offers clear direction on how the court may deploy its discretion to order pre-action disclosure in disputed debt restructurings. Creditors can take increased comfort about securing such relief, and counterparties should think more carefully about providing restructuring transaction documents voluntarily at the pre-action stage in comparable situations.

Information asymmetries in restructuring disputes

The court treated the imbalance of information between the applicants and Kroll/the ad hoc group (the latter expected to be added as defendants in due course) as, in itself, a factor weighing in favour of disclosure. It concluded that ordering pre-action disclosure would cause minimal disruption to Kroll while materially assisting the applicants in shaping their case.

Limited classes of documents for which disclosure is sought

The court observed that the applicants sought only narrow categories of documents (set out below) designed to reveal:

  1. precisely what instructions Kroll received under the ICA;
  2. the identity of those who issued those instructions...

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