Section 47 - Appointment of manager
250.This section gives the Regulator a power to appoint a manager to carry out functions in relation to a CIC. This power is subject to the company default condition being satisfied (section 41(2)). The Regulator may wish to appoint a manager to take control and run the day to day operations of a CIC for a certain period of time, rather than to influence the general direction of the CIC through the appointment of a director. Therefore the Regulator is able to specify the manager’s functions and powers (subsection (3)), and to prevent the directors of a CIC from carrying out such functions (subsection (4)(b)). In order to ensure that this power does not affect the rights of third parties or the insolvency process, subsection (6) provides that the appointment of a manager under this clause does not affect the rights of any third party to appoint a receiver or manager, or the rights of any receiver or manager appointed by a third party. For similar reasons, subsection (8) provides that if certain office holders under insolvency legislation are appointed in respect of the CIC, the Regulator must discharge any order appointing a manager to that CIC. The clause allows the Regulator to seek directions from a court in connection with the manager’s functions (subsections (9) – (10)). This might be done in order to counter obstruction of the manager by a CIC or its officers, since disobeying the court’s directions would amount to contempt.