CVA" Stands for a Number of Things, Including "Cerebro
COMPANY VOLUNTARY ARRANGEMENTS Michael Howlin, Q.C. Hastie Stable, Edinburgh 1. Introduction 1.1 The abbreviation "CVA" stands for a number of things, including "cerebro- vascular accident" (i.e., a stroke), "Creative Video Associations" (a company which recycles videotape), an organisation called "Croydon Voluntary Action", "credit value adjustment" (or indeed "counterparty valuation adjustment") in the context of banking, and a device known as a "controlled valve actuator". It also stands for "company voluntary arrangement", which is the subject-matter of this talk. 1.2 Recent high-profile examples of CVAs include those proposed by (the late) JJB Sports (for the second time), Blacks, Clinton Cards, PT McWilliams (a Northern Ireland engineering company), Oddbins (no explanation needed), Carvill Group (a Northern Ireland construction company) and McTavish 2 Ramsay, the Dundee door manufacturers. Even more recently, we have had the failed Glasgow Rangers CVA and CVAs for Travelodge and Fitness First. 2. The General Statutory Background 2.1 CVAs were created by the Insolvency Act 1986, which devoted all of seven sections to them. Since 2003, they have been governed by slightly expanded primary statutory provisions1 and a new Schedule (Schedule A1) to which I shall return shortly. There are also provisions in Part I of the Insolvency (Scotland) Rules 1986, as amended. 2.2 Section 1(1) defines a voluntary arrangement simply as "a composition in satisfaction of [the company's] debts or a scheme of arrangement of its affairs2". In practice, a CVA is a very flexible affair, the details of which will vary from case to case. Examples of what can be achieved by a CVA include: (1) unconditional foregiveness of debts, or certain classes of debts; (2) pro rata reduction (or partial reduction) of liabilities, or certain classes of liabilities; (3) other variations of liabilities (e.g.
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