10@12 Webinar: Transactions at an Undervalue and Preferences – Cohen v Co-Operative Group Limited
26th June 2026 1200
James Potts KC, Matthew Parfitt, Jack Rivett and Conor McLaughlin will provide practical pointers for restructuring lawyers and litigators about claims by insolvency officeholders in relation to transactions at an undervalue and preferences.
This webinar follows on from the ‘Clawback Claims in Corporate Insolvency’ webinar on 15 May 2026, and focuses on the recent decision of Mr Justice Cawson in Cohen & Anor v Co-Operative Group Limited & Ors [2026] EWHC 1228 (Ch) – handed down on 21 May 2026 – in which James, Matthew, Jack and Conor acted for the successful Co-operative Group defending what is believed to be the highest-value transaction at an undervalue and preference claim ever brought.
The webinar will address the following points:
1. Overview of the contested restructuring and ss. 239-239 Insolvency Act 1986
2. Identification of the precise “transaction” at an undervalue or preference
3. Solvency as a threshold question
4. Assessment of undervalue: experts, hindsight and commercial reality
5. Withdrawal of share capital from registered societies: Sequana (CA) distinguished
6. Section 238(5) defence: good faith, carrying on of business and benefit to the company
7. Preference in fact and the desire to prefer
8. Remedies for transactions at an undervalue and preferences
9. The ‘creditor cap’ and avoidance of circularity
10. Structuring transactions and defending them
