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In finance, a floating charge is a security interest over a fund of changing assets of a company or other legal person.Unlike a fixed charge, which is created over ascertained and definite property, a floating charge is created over property of an ambulatory and shifting nature, such as receivables and stock.
Romer LJ said a charge is "floating" if it (1) is a charge on present and future assets (2) the class of assets changes in the ordinary course of business, and (3) the company can deal with the assets in business as usual. [1] The term “floating” is one that until recently was a mere popular term. It certainly had no distinct legal meaning.
Floating charges are similar in effect to fixed equitable charges once they crystallise (usually upon the commencement of liquidation proceedings against the chargor), but prior to that they "float" and do not attach to any of the chargor's assets, and the chargor remains free to deal with or dispose of them.
Legislation relating to voidable floating charges is intended to prevent abuse of a security interest which catches literally all of the assets of the company, and could be used by person to strip out all of the assets from a company in difficulty from the unsecured creditors. However, if the holder of the floating charge has inserted new money ...
Siebe Gorman & Co Ltd v Barclays Bank Ltd [1979] 2 Lloyd's Rep 142 is a UK insolvency law case, concerning the definition of a floating charge. It was an influential decision for many years, but is now outdated as authority in light of the House of Lords decision in Re Spectrum Plus Ltd.
A contractual right in the chargor to collect the proceeds and pay them into its own bank account for use in the ordinary course of business is the badge of a floating charge and is inconsistent with the existence of a fixed charge: see Re Brightlife [1986] BCLC 418 at 422, [1987] Ch 200 at 209. I would, therefore, for my own part, and ...
Re New Bullas Trading Ltd [1994] 1 BCLC 485 is a UK insolvency law case, concerning the definition of a floating charge. It held, somewhat controversially, that it was possible to separate a book debt from its proceeds, and that it was possible to create a fixed charge over the book debt but only a floating charge over the proceeds.
Fifth, the holders of a floating charge holders must be paid. Like a fixed charge, a floating charge can be created by a contract with a company before insolvency. Like with a fixed charge, this is usually done in return for a loan from a bank. But unlike a fixed charge, a floating charge need not refer to a specific asset of the company.