A charge over approximately 68% of a company's assets does not satisfy the requirement in s 436C(1) that the charge be over 'the whole, or substantially the whole' of the company's property; 'substantially the whole' means almost all of the assets. Where a secured creditor's appointment under s 436C is invalid but the directors intended to appoint administrators under s 436A and all prerequisites for such appointment were present, the court may use s 447A to validate the appointment retrospectively as if made under s 436A. The question whether s 447A can cure a defective s 436C appointment where the statutory preconditions can never be met was expressly left open.
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