Dividends, directors’ duties and transactions defrauding creditors – International Law Office (registration)

In BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA [2016] EWHC 1686 the High Court was recently asked to consider whether:

• payment of dividends contravened Part 23 of the Companies Act 2006;
• the decision to pay the dividends was a breach by the directors of their fiduciary duties towards the company; and
• the dividends were transactions defrauding creditors under Section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986.

The case lasted over 30 days at trial and the factual matrix was complex.

Arjo Wiggins Appleton Limited (AWAL) was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sequana SA (SSA). Through a series of acquisitions, the claimant in BAT Industries PLC (BAT) became responsible for part of t…