Something Intangible to Hold on to—the Spectrum of Security over Receivables in England and Germany

Abstract

This chapter considers two similar techniques for companies to give security to their creditors: the floating charge and the floating mortgage. These are widely used in England and Germany respectively. Central to both is the use of monetary claims obtained by companies against third parties in the course of their commercial activities. Such claims are variably known as ‘book debts’, ‘accounts receivable’ or ‘receivables’; here, these expressions will be used interchangeably. Before the legal incidents of these two types of security are set out and compared, the factual background of their operation is explained. The comparative analysis will then try to shed some light on questions that arise in connection with each form of security.