For many Maltese companies, financial difficulty used to mean a stark choice: muddle through and hope for the best, or head straight for insolvency. A new legal route — preventive restructuring — changes that equation by creating space to repair a viable business before it is too late. For years, the story was familiar. A business in Malta hits a rough patch — a delayed customer payment, a lost contract, a costly dispute, a run of poor trading. Directors, often with the best of intentions, focus on keeping the doors open and the payroll met. Credit stretches. Bank facilities are…
This article is part of a series exploring court actions available under the Companies Act (Chapter 386 of the Laws of Malta). Each article gives a practical overview of a specific legal remedy or procedure involving court supervision, outlining when it applies, the steps required, and the purpose behind it. It is intended as a useful reference point rather than an in-depth academic analysis. Once a liquidator is appointed to wind up a company, creditors and contributories often assume that the process will proceed smoothly. But what happens when it does not? Under Article 243(1) of the Companies Act, any…
This article forms part of a series exploring key procedures and rights under the Companies Act (Chapter 386 of the Laws of Malta) in the context of company liquidation. While not every step requires a direct court application, creditors and other stakeholders still play an active role in shaping the process. Once a company is placed into liquidation by a court order, the Official Receiver is automatically appointed as the liquidator. However, this appointment is not necessarily permanent. Under Article 229(4) of the Companies Act, creditors holding at least one-fourth in value of the company’s debt may formally request the…