December 2008

Introduction

1. What is a requisitioned meeting? 

It is a meeting which is requested by the creditors in a bankruptcy case, or the creditors or contributories in a liquidation.

2. What types of meeting can be requisitioned? 

A first meeting of creditors can only be requisitioned by the creditor(s) themselves for the purpose of appointing a liquidator or trustee other than the official receiver. The official receiver may wish to ascertain the underlying reason for the requisition having due regard to the guidance given in Technical Manual Chapter 17, paragraph 17.3.

There is no provision for contributories to requisition first meetings.

A general meeting may be requested by creditors or in company cases by the contributories. 

See Technical Manual Chapter 16 where a requisition is received for a general meeting seeking to replace the official receiver as trustee or liquidator.

3. What if the official receiver has already decided not to hold a first meeting? 

Whether or not the official receiver has already sent out no meeting notices, provided that the requirements for requisitioning a first meeting have been met, he/she must hold one. The official receiver should consider the guidance given in Technical Manual Chapter 17, paragraph 17.3 regarding the circumstances in which the appointment of an insolvency practitioner (IP) may be appropriate and Technical Manual Chapter 17 paragraph 17.66 which explains in more detail how the value of creditors’ requests may affect the official receiver’s decision.

Where notice of no meeting has already been given, the official receiver must formally withdraw this by writing to all those who were told of his/her original decision. 

The meeting will be called a ‘first meeting’ and held as if no previous notice had been given. 

4. How are meetings requisitioned? 

The request for a meeting must be made in writing to the official receiver, trustee or liquidator. There are statutory forms available for this purpose. A creditors' requisition should be made on form 4.21 (company) or 6.34 (bankruptcy). Contributories should use form 4.24. However, if a requisition is received by ordinary letter and contains all the information which would normally be found in the prescribed form, the official receiver may accept this as a valid requisition. 

The request should set out which creditors or contributories are making the request, how much they are owed (or what their shareholding is), written confirmation from concurring creditors and what the purpose of the meeting is to be. They must also pay in advance for the costs and expenses of holding the meeting. For further information see paragraph 7. 

(July 2010)

Once it has been ensured that the requisition has been made properly, the procedure is the same as described in the Case Help Manual parts: Calling a Meeting and Day of Meeting except that: 

• the forms sent out will need to say that the meeting has been requisitioned and why
• the official receiver is not required to apply to the court for an extension of time where the requisition means that a first meeting will be held outside the 4 month period
• a first meeting must be held within 3 months of receipt of the creditors’ request
• a general meeting must be held within 28 days of receipt of the request (in cases where the petition was presented before 6 April 2010 the meeting should be held within 35 days of the request),  or the receipt of expenses

7. Costs to be paid by the requisitioner 

The Insolvency Rules 1986 provide that the expenses of summoning and holding a meeting should be paid by the requisitioner. The official receiver should contact the requisitioning creditor(s) requesting payment of the expenses of summoning and holding the requisitioned meeting (form MTGORC). The official receiver should take no action regarding the meeting until such a payment has been made. The requisitioner will be required to pay for the cost of gazetting the meeting (and of any advertising) and if necessary the room hire for holding the meeting. 

The official receiver must ascertain these costs and when paid they should be posted to the estate account. The cost of any advertisement will automatically be invoiced and paid centrally by Official Receiver Business Services (ORBS) under the agency arrangements with Tribal. The official receiver should liaise with ORBS to identify the charge notice for advertising the requisitioned meeting and send it to Estate Account Services who will arrange for the payment to be made from the estate account to reimburse the central account. Where the requisitioner has to pay for appropriate room hire, the costs should be deposited in the estate account and the invoice paid from the estate account. 



Notes: 

a Due to the tight deadlines involved in holding a requisitioned general meeting and giving the required period of notice to the creditors and contributories, the request for a general meeting must be acted upon quickly. 

b The total amount due to all creditors, including secured creditors for the full amount, is used to check whether the correct proportion of creditors have made the request. 

c To confirm the total amount outstanding to creditors, the official receiver must use all the information available to him - in practice this means checking the statement of affairs (or list of creditors) and proofs lodged and correspondence from creditors. 


Where can I find out more? 

Insolvency Rules as amended by The Insolvency (Amendment) Rules 2010:

Rules 4.50 and 6.79 - First Meetings 

Rules 4.57 and 6.83 - Requisitioned meetings 

Rules 4.61 and 6.87 - Expenses of summoning meetings 

The Insolvency Act 1986:

Section 136 - Functions of Official Receiver 

Section 168 - Supplementary Powers 

Section 294 - Powers of creditors to requisition meeting 

Technical Manual: 

Chapter 16 – Meetings - Part 2

Chapter 17 – Appointments by Secretary of State

Case Help Manual:

Day of meeting

Calling a Meeting

Forms to be used 

MTGORC - Letter re OR’s costs (Meetings)

All other forms are the same as given in the relevant parts of the Case Help Manual part: Meetings according to which type of meeting is required. 

Click HERE to view the Requisitioned Meetings Flowchart.

Procedure

1. Receive request and check that the request contains all the information required: 

• full name and address of the creditor (or contributory) making the request; 
• under which section of the Insolvency Act the request is made; 
• the purpose of the meeting

and unless the creditor or contributory alone represents the required value

• a list of the creditors or contributories concurring with the request and the amount of the respective claims in the bankruptcy or winding up or of the contributories respective values (being the amount for which they may vote at any meeting)
• from each creditor or contributory concurring, written confirmation of his/her concurrence 
  
  

2. Check that the correct proportion of creditors or contributories have supported the request: 

A request for a first meeting must have the support of 25% in value of the creditors. A request for a general meeting must have the support of 10% in value of the creditors or 10% in value of the contributories (unless the purpose is to replace the official receiver as trustee or liquidator). If the proportion is incorrect or where a notice of no meeting has already been issued, refer to examiner. 

When making the above calculation: 

• all the figures needed will be available from the statement of affairs (debtor’s petition cases) Preliminary Information Questionnaire (PIQB or PIQC) or the creditors’ information on LOIS screen 31
• ensure that the total amount due to all creditors is used, including the full amount owed to secured creditors

Where no deposit has accompanied the request

3. Liaise with the cashier to determine the exact amount which is required to cover the costs of summoning the meeting(s). This should include the costs of gazetting and if required advertising the meeting and (where appropriate) hiring a venue. 

4. Once the amount required has been calculated, prepare and send form MTGORC to the requisitioning creditors / contributories (DO73). 

When the deposit is received 

5. Ensure that the deposit is correct if received with the requisition or as requested in the form MTGORC.  

6. Fix meeting date, enter on LOIS (CA21) and diarise. 

A general meeting must be held within 28 (35 if the petition was presented before 6 April 2010) days of receipt of the deposit and a first meeting within 3 months. 

Where the requisition is for a first meeting 

7. If the official receiver has already given notice that no first meeting is to be held (NNM) prepare the official receiver’s formal withdrawal of the notice of no meeting and send to all those who were sent the no meeting notice. The examiner will be responsible for drafting this. 

In all cases 

8. Depending on the type of meeting, the procedures in Case Help Manual Parts: Calling a Meeting and Day of Meeting or General Meetings apply with the following amendments: 

• it is not necessary to apply for an extension of time for holding a first meeting
• the forms NFM/NGM will need to say that a meeting has been requisitioned and the reasons why.