s 36 General continuity obligation: share transfers
(1) This section applies where all or part of the ownership of a steel undertaking (the “transferred steel undertaking”) has been transferred in accordance with share transfer regulations. (2) Each former group company must provide such services and facilities as are required to enable the transferred steel undertaking to operate effectively. (3) The duty under subsection (2) (“the continuity obligation”) may be enforced as if created by contract between the transferred steel undertaking and the former group company. (4) The continuity obligation continues to apply despite the former group company entering insolvency, and may not be disclaimed by a liquidator under section 178 (2) of the Insolvency Act 1986 or Article 152 (1) of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 ( S.I. 1989/2405 (N.I. 19) ). (5) The duty to provide services and facilities in pursuance of the continuity obligation is subject to a right to receive reasonable consideration. (6) But if the services and facilities provided in pursuance of the continuity obligation were provided to the transferred steel undertaking, under an agreement with that undertaking, before the share transfer regulations providing for the transfer were made, they are to continue for the duration of that agreement to be provided on the terms set out in that agreement (and subsection (5) does not apply). (7) The continuity obligation is not limited to the provision of services or facilities directly to the transferred steel undertaking. (8) The Secretary of State may by notice to a former group company state that in the Secretary of State’s opinion— (a) specified activities are required to be undertaken in accordance with the continuity obligation; (b) activities are required be undertaken in accordance with the continuity obligation on specified terms. (9) A notice under subsection (8) is determinative of the nature and extent of the continuity obligation as from the time when the notice is given. (10) In this section and section 37 — “ former group company ” means anything which was a group undertaking in relation to the transferred steel undertaking immediately before the transfer (whether or not it is also a group undertaking in relation to the transferred steel undertaking immediately after the transfer); “ group undertaking ” has the meaning given by section 1161 (5) of the Companies Act 2006 (interpretation); “ transferred steel undertaking ” has the meaning given by subsection (1) . (11) In this section and section 37 , a reference to insolvency includes a reference to— (a) liquidation; (b) administration; (c) receivership; (d) composition with creditors; (e) a scheme of arrangement.