Companies Act 2014 section 552

Cessation of protection of company and termination of appointment of examiner

Section 552 sets out the circumstances in which court protection for a company in examinership comes to an end and the consequent automatic termination of the examiner's appointment.

• Court protection ends when a rescue plan (compromise or scheme of arrangement) takes effect, or at an earlier date if the court so directs
• The court may end protection early if it is no longer supporting rescue negotiations, if the company or examiner requests it, if creditors are being unfairly prejudiced, or if continuing protection could cause a creditor to become insolvent
• Once court protection ceases, the examiner's appointment automatically terminates on the same date
• Although the maximum examinership period is typically 70 days (with a possible 30-day extension), there is no requirement to prolong the process unnecessarily where the work can be completed more quickly