Netherlands Bids to Topple London as Europe’s Restructuring Hub
Netherlands Bids to Topple London as Europe’s Restructuring Hub
(Bloomberg) -- The Dutch government is throwing its weight behind challenging London’s position as Europe’s legal hub for the lucrative business of restructuring the debt of struggling companies.
With Britain due to leave the European Union by the end of January, the Netherlands is bidding to chip away at the legal business that runs through English courts with a proposed reform of insolvency laws set to be approved by parliament early next year. This outlines a new bankruptcy code taking elements of U.S. Chapter 11 procedures and English schemes of arrangement, aiming to boost the appeal of the Netherlands as a chosen jurisdiction.
“Because the Netherlands will provide for a restructuring option that is automatically recognized in the rest of European countries, we think that it will lead to an increase of cases from the U.K. toward the Netherlands,” Ferdinand Hengst, partner at Dutch law firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, said in a phone interview.
English judges have overseen the overhaul of more than $60 billion of debts owed by at least 50 non-U.K. firms in the last ten years, generating fees and commissions for thousands of lawyers and consultants in London’s financial district.
Under the new Dutch bill, a debtor will be able to offer an extrajudicial restructuring plan to all or some of its stakeholders that would be binding on all affected parties upon the approval of two thirds of each creditor class. The new law also makes it easier to impose losses on junior creditors.
Brexit Uncertainty
Reform of the Dutch insolvency code comes amid ongoing uncertainty about the nature of legal arrangements between the U.K. and the European Union after Brexit.
At the end of the transitional period that will follow the U.K.‘s exit from the EU, English pre-insolvency schemes of arrangement may no longer be recognized within the bloc, according to a note published by Kirkland & Ellis. Insolvency procedures may also lose automatic recognition and need approval from a local judge in the absence of a new agreement.
Brexit has prompted other European cities such as Paris, Frankfurt and Brussels to try and take legal and financial business from London, copying some U.K. legal practices or offering proceedings in English.
London nevertheless has retained much of its appeal. Earlier this year a U.S. company chose for the first time, an English scheme of arrangement over U.S. proceedings to restructure some of its international units, according to a note published by law firm Goodwin.
Meanwhile, Dutch insolvency reform is yet to be tested and it may take time before practitioners get comfortable using it, said Philip Hertz, partner and global head of restructuring and insolvency at Clifford Chance.
Tried, Tested
“The U.K. will continue to be a favored jurisdiction for restructuring”, Glen Flannery, partner in CMS in London said in an interview. “But in some cases in the future it may make more sense to anchor the proceedings somewhere in Europe other than the U.K. to avail of the automatic recognition that’s available throughout EU member states,” he said.
That’s the aim of prime minister Mark Rutte’s government. A new international trade chamber -- the Netherlands Commercial Court -- started hearing cases in Amsterdam in January. Hearings are conducted in English and the court seeks to compete with London, Dubai and Singapore in complex international commercial cases. Since the court opened, it has heard two cases, one of them related to a debt restructuring.
While Amsterdam is unlikely to replace London as Europe’s top financial center even after Brexit, the reforms are likely to shift more restructurings toward Dutch courts, according to Hengst.
“I expect that in a few years from now, the heart of the financial market in Europe will still be in London,” Hengst said. “But many of the advisers will be working from London in proceedings run by Dutch courts.”
--With assistance from Luca Casiraghi.
To contact the reporter on this story: Irene García Pérez in London at igarciaperez@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Vivianne Rodrigues at vrodrigues3@bloomberg.net, Chris Vellacott
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.