Pre-Packaged Administrations and Company Voluntary Arrangements: The case for a holistic approach to reform

Abstract

The Company Voluntary Arrangement (“CVA”) and pre-packaged administration (“pre-pack”) both facilitate corporate rescue and enable the continuation of a business by its existing management, though in very different ways. Through analysis of longitudinal studies of CVAs and connected party pre-packs commenced in 2013, this paper provides a comparative analysis of the outcomes of the processes and their impact on stakeholders. In so doing the paper identifies issues arising from the operation of these procedures and makes suggestions for reform, both to the processes and the need for wider systemic reform.