Houthoff launches new Dutch Scheme Tool

Houthoff launches the Dutch Scheme Tool: a visualisation tool for the new Dutch Scheme (Wet Homologatie Onderhands Akkoord). The tool is freely and publicly available at whoa.houthoff.com.

What is the Dutch Scheme?

The Dutch Scheme is a Dutch pre-insolvency procedure inspired by the scheme of arrangement in the UK Companies Act 2006 and Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The Dutch Scheme allows a debtor or restructuring expert to propose a plan that may help avoid the debtor's insolvency. The Dutch Scheme entered into force on 1 January 2021.

The Dutch Scheme combines a fast and flexible framework for concluding pre-insolvency schemes with a high degree of deal certainty. Such instrument did not exist in Dutch insolvency law until now. As a framework, the Dutch Scheme does not prescribe the contents of a plan. Proponents can draft a plan as they see fit (e.g. extending and/or reducing debt, debt for equity swap, sale of assets, limited to only a subset of the capital structure, etc.). The Dutch Scheme provides plan proponents with a high degree of flexibility on structuring the process (e.g. timing, electronic voting, etc.).

A two-pager describing the key features of the Dutch Scheme can be found here.

What does the Dutch Scheme Tool do?

The Dutch Scheme Tool visualises the changes in a company's capital structure, outstanding liabilities and value distribution under a possible plan under a Dutch Scheme. As such, the Scheme Tool offers you a first visual impression of a proposed plan under a Dutch Scheme and helps better understand such plan. In addition, the Scheme Tool offers a first rough analysis whether the main tests for confirmation (homologatie) of the plan under the Dutch Scheme are likely met or not. We invite anyone to try the Dutch Scheme Tool at whoa.houthoff.com.

Houthoff's Restructuring and Insolvency practice group

The Tool is developed by the Restructuring and Insolvency practice group at Houthoff.