The Administration (Restrictions on Disposal etc. to Connected Persons) Regulations 2021 (Regulations) was approved by both houses of parliament on 24 March 2021 and will apply to any administration commencing from 30 April 2021. Under the Regulations, administrators cannot dispose of all or a substantial part of a company’s business or assets to a person connected with the company within the first eight weeks of the administration without either:

• the approval of creditors; or
• a qualifying report from an independent, third party Evaluator (positive or negative).

The Regulations seek to address the perceived inequity of pre-pack sales, but do they effectively address the concerns they were designed to alleviate?