Despite the ongoing general adjournment of court proceedings announced by the Hong Kong Judiciary as a result of the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, our Litigation Department has successfully assisted a client, being a company registered in Hong Kong (the “Company”), in obtaining an Order of the High Court of Hong Kong for appointment of provisional liquidators of the Company.
The Company is a pivotal part of an international group engaged in garment and fashion trading. Faced with financial difficulties including a total indebtedness of about HKD 300 million, coupled with the collapse of the retail arm in Europe and the mandatory closure of over 200 retail stores due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Company had to petition for its winding-up and resort to the appointment of provisional liquidators, primarily with a view to preserving its assets at stake, including inventories in the total value of approximately EUR 70 million.
Our team, led by litigation partner Mr. Roy Leung, assisted by assistant solicitors Mr. Mathew Liu and Ms. Theresa Law, and trainee solicitor Ms. Winnie Hui, received instructions from the Company to proceed with the petition and the application on urgent basis. Our team has swiftly collaborated with local Counsel and German lawyer, and liaised with one of the Big Four accountancy firms in preparation for the urgent application in less than a week’s time. Despite the Judiciary’s present limited operation, the Court was convinced to hear the Company’s application on an urgent basis, where special leave to issue a winding-up petition of the Company and the Order of appointment of provisional liquidators were successfully obtained.
Our Litigation Department has abundant experience in assisting individual and corporate clients in need of advice in restructuring and insolvency, especially at times of economic turmoil. In particular, we have established close links with prominent accountancy and advisory firms and leading insolvency experts in order to provide timely and professional support for our clients.
