These are interesting times for corporate rescue. On the one hand, a new emphasis on rescue has developed over the last decade or so and turnaround has emerged as a main priority in dealing with troubled companies. The ‘rescue culture’ has been evident in legislation and in endorsements by the UK Government and also the judiciary. The banks have instituted new intensive care regimes and a new group of turnaround specialists has come onto the scene to assist in the process of dealing with corporate troubles at an ever-earlier stage in their development. In parallel, increasing attention is being paid to the management of risks to corporate welfare. On the other hand, the advent of ‘the new capitalism’ and the commodification of credit have produced a fragmentation of interests in troubled companies and a new set of pressures that favour exiting from relationships with distressed firms rather than doctoring such companies. This fragmentation has imposed new strains on the ‘London Approach’ and has given rise to new difficulties in securing agreements to informal turnaround proposals.

Against this background, considerable changes have been made to insolvency procedures. The phasing out of administrative receivership has been accompanied by a rebirth of administration and the CVA procedure has been enhanced with a moratorium for small companies. The Crown's status as preferential creditor has been removed and the ‘prescribed part’ has been introduced in order to provide greater economic protection for unsecured creditors.