Sanction Judgment on Restructuring Plan of Nasdaq-Listed Crypto Miner

Shortly before Christmas, Hildyard J handed down judgment giving his reasons for sanctioning a restructuring plan of Argo Blockchain plc, a financially-distressed Nasdaq-listed crypto miner.

The judgment is highly significant for the UK restructuring market, addressing a number of points of wider relevance, including:

• What constitutes a ‘meeting’ under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 (diverging from Scots case law on the effect of proxies on the existence of a meeting).
• The post-Thames/Petrofac approach to valuing contributions to a restructuring and assessing the fairness of the proposed plan (including a continuing role for the ‘gifting’ principle).
• The role of a retail advocate in a restructuring plan involving a cross-class cram-down, versus a plan or scheme involving only assenting classes.
• Class issues for holders of American Depository Shares and ordinary shares.
• The matters on which an English court needs to be satisfied to sanction a restructuring of a Nasdaq-listed company (an equivalent Chapter 11 restructuring would lead to a delisting).

William Day acted for the retail advocate, Jonathan Yorke, instructed by McCarthy Denning.

This was the fourth restructuring plan in which Will acted in 2025, having previously appeared in Re Thames Water Utilities Holding plc (the UK’s largest water and sewerage company), Re Petrofac Ltd (a former FTSE 100 petrocarbons services provider), and Re Fossil (UK) Global Services Ltd (a global fashion accessories brand).

The judgment in Re Argo Blockchain plc [2025] EWHC 3395 (Ch) can be read here.