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Gift wrapped?

21 July 2011 / Siobhan Jones
Issue: 7475 / Categories: Features , Landlord&tenant , Property
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Are pre-packs in the property industry a friend or foe, asks Siobhan Jones

The first half of 2011 has passed, and with it also the June quarter day. The result? Much comment about the state of the property market at this midpoint in 2011, which coincides with the collapse of a large number of retailers and reports of others which are apparently at the brink of collapse or having to restructure their business.

A renewed discussion about “pre-pack” administrations has emerged as a result of these developments, especially in light of the recent government proposals to amend the legislation relating to pre-pack sales in order to provide creditors (the largest group of which often comprises landlords) with a higher level of protection. This is perhaps the perfect opportunity to revisit the issues faced by struggling companies (most notably and topically retailers) and their unsecured creditor landlords when faced with the prospect of a pre-pack sale, and to look at how the government now proposes to tackle the growing unease.

What is a pre-pack?

“Pre-pack”

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NEWS
The government’s plan to introduce a Single Professional Services Supervisor could erode vital legal-sector expertise, warns Mark Evans, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, in NLJ this week
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Professor Graham Zellick KC argues in NLJ this week that, despite Buckingham Palace’s statement stripping Andrew Mountbatten Windsor of his styles, titles and honours, he remains legally a duke
Writing in NLJ this week, Sophie Ashcroft and Miranda Joseph of Stevens & Bolton dissect the Privy Council’s landmark ruling in Jardine Strategic Ltd v Oasis Investments II Master Fund Ltd (No 2), which abolishes the long-standing 'shareholder rule'
In NLJ this week, Sailesh Mehta and Theo Burges of Red Lion Chambers examine the government’s first-ever 'Afghan leak' super-injunction—used to block reporting of data exposing Afghans who aided UK forces and over 100 British officials. Unlike celebrity privacy cases, this injunction centred on national security. Its use, the authors argue, signals the rise of a vast new body of national security law spanning civil, criminal, and media domains
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