A critical review of UK Special Administrations and their alternatives for struggling providers of public functions

Parry, R ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8285-2191, Vaccari, E and Chapagain, S, 2026. A critical review of UK Special Administrations and their alternatives for struggling providers of public functions. Journal of Business Law, 2026 (2), pp. 176-203. ISSN 0021-9460

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Abstract

The marketisation of public service provision in the United Kingdom (UK) has created new risks where the insolvency of private providers of public functions may threaten essential functions and public welfare. This article examines how the current English insolvency framework addresses such public-interest insolvencies. We argue that traditional tools-administration, liquidation, and restructuring plans-remain fundamentally creditor-oriented and ill-suited to safeguarding continuity of critical services. Special Administration Regimes (SARs) were introduced to fill this gap, but their sector-specific, path-dependent development has produced fragmentation, outdated provisions, and significant blind spots. After analysing recent cases, including Bulb and Thames Water, we argue that piecemeal statutory amendments would perpetuate these flaws and that the more principled and effective solution is a unified SAR with built-in funding, indemnities, and flexibility to adapt to future challenges.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journal of Business Law
Creators:	Parry, R., Vaccari, E. and Chapagain, S.
Publisher:	Sweet and Maxwell
Date:	9 February 2026
Volume:	2026
Number:	2
ISSN:	0021-9460
Identifiers:	Number Type 2601269 Other
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Law School
Record created by:	Jeremy Silvester
Date Added:	08 Apr 2026 09:33
Last Modified:	08 Apr 2026 09:33
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/55507

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