Liquidator meaning

Where it is proposed to wind up a solvent company voluntarily When a solvent company is to be wound up voluntarily, the directors may, at a board meeting, make a statutory declaration of solvency confirming that, after a full enquiry into the company’s affairs, they hold the view the company can pay all its debts in full, together with interest at the official rate, within no more than 12 months from the commencement of the winding-up. See Practice Notes: What is a members’ voluntary liquidation and when is it typically used? MVL—the information and documents to be provided to the liquidator by the company It should be noted that if the directors make such a statutory declaration, the company proceeds by way of a members’ voluntary liquidation (MVL). Where no declaration is made, the company instead enters a creditors’ voluntary liquidation. See Practice Notes: Placing a company into MVL What is a statutory declaration of solvency...

Checklist and timeline This concise checklist and timeline is prepared on the footing that proceedings are brought under sections 238 and/or 239 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) by an administrator or liquidator, and not by any assignee of the claim. Step/action: Review the events leading to the company’s insolvency and the factors underpinning the claim(s) against the respondent(s) (typically the recipients of the relevant payments/transactions). This involves securing the company’s books and records, accounting data/statements and bank statements, and interviewing directors, former directors, and any person with knowledge of the promotion, formation, business dealings, affairs or property of the company. Note that if the office-holder signals a claim against the respondent(s), they risk losing investigative powers under IA 1986, ss 235–236 in relation to that claim. Time (days): No limit (subject to limitation). Section/rule: IA 1986, ss 234–236, 238, 239; Cloverbay Ltd (joint administrators) v Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA [1991] Ch 90, [1991] 1 All ER 894. ...

This Checklist outlines the position in relation to a creditors’ voluntary liquidation (CVL) with effect from 6 April 2017. Notifications The appointed liquidator must provide the registrar of companies with the following: a copy of the statement of affairs, to be delivered within five business days after the conclusion of the decision procedure or deemed consent procedure relating to the liquidator’s appointment a copy of the notice of appointment of liquidator, to be sent within 14 days of the appointment The registrar of companies should be notified using Form 600CH. If the liquidator chooses to move the company’s registered office to their business address, they should also submit to the registrar of companies a copy confirming the change of registered office (if this has not already been filed). In February 2014, Companies House issued guidance answering frequently asked questions about insolvency filings at Companies House (most recently updated on 10 March 2022). The guidance contains a list of the...

Christopher Purkiss (as liquidator of Ethos Solutions Limited) v Tim Kennedy and others [2025] EWCA Civ 268 Ethos Solutions Limited (the Company) ran a disguised remuneration arrangement under which sums were channelled to an employee benefit trust (EBT) without withholding income tax or NICs. The EBT’s trustee allocated funds into sub-trusts for the respondents and, when asked, advanced the amounts to them as discretionary loans. On 4 December 2012, HMRC issued determinations, holding the Company liable for income tax and NICs of c.£2m arising from payments made to the EBT in the 2008‑09 and 2009‑10 tax years. On 18 December 2012, the Company entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation, making no remittances to HMRC and taking no steps to appeal. On 9 January 2013, HMRC lodged a proof of debt totalling c.£2m with respect to those same EBT payments, as claimed therein...

Pagden (as liquidator of Core VCT IV Plc and Core VCT V plc) and others v Fry and other cases [2025] EWHC 2316 (Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision clarifies that, although liquidators’ firms and their personnel may, in certain circumstances, invoke limitation clauses in relation to distinct contractual or tortious duties (always subject to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and fact-specific questions of vicarious liability), individual liquidators cannot restrict the statutory obligations that arise under a statutory trust. Sensible practice is for liquidators and their firms to revisit engagement letters to (a) set out, with precision, the separation between liquidators’ statutory functions and any contractual or advisory services; and (b) add explicit carve-outs confirming that limitation provisions have no application to the liquidators’ statutory duties. What was the background? The claimants are three companies that issued proceedings against their former liquidators and the firm of those former office-holders (the defendants). They contend the defendants breached fiduciary, tortious and contractual...

Restructuring & Insolvency weekly highlights—29 February 2024 In this issue: Restructuring Corporate insolvency processes Insolvency litigation Directors and insolvency Personal insolvency Industry/sector guides for R&I lawyers Daily and weekly news alerts Key dates for R&I professionals Corporate Rescue and Insolvency (February 2024 edition) Latest Q&A Restructuring New Practice Notes—Part 26A restructuring plan deal debriefs The LexisNexis Restructuring & Insolvency practical guidance team have released four fresh Practice Notes within their ‘Restructuring Plan deal debrief’ series: ‘Part 26A restructuring plan deal debrief—The Good Box Labs Co Ltd (in administration)’, ‘Part 26A restructuring plan deal debrief—CFG Investments SAC’, ‘Part 26A restructuring plan deal debrief—ED&F Man Holdings Ltd’ and ‘Part 26A restructuring plan deal debrief—Hong Kong Airlines Ltd’. These Notes consider the key terms of the Part 26A restructuring plan proposed by NGI Systems & Solutions Ltd for the SME, The Good Box Labs Co Ltd (in administration), in 2023. They also examine the...

The resolution to wind-up A company can move into voluntary liquidation only if one of the following applies: its fixed duration has ended, or an event specified in its articles as triggering liquidation has occurred, and the company has approved an ordinary resolution to wind up; or it passes a special resolution to be wound up voluntarily. See: 97 Notice of meeting to pass ordinary or special resolution to wind up: Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents [1441] 103 Special resolution to wind up and appoint liquidator: Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents [1452] The former practice of proceeding by extraordinary resolution is no longer available under the Companies Act 2006. Where the directors make a declaration of solvency under section 89 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986), the company may proceed by way of a members’ voluntary liquidation (MVL). For further information, see Practice Note: What is a members’ voluntary liquidation and when is...

The official receiver (OR) is designated as trustee in bankruptcy (trustee) or as liquidator to manage and investigate every bankruptcy and court-ordered winding up, including those of partnerships. The Secretary of State or the creditors may, in place of the OR, appoint an insolvency practitioner (IP) to act as trustee for personal insolvencies or as liquidator for corporate cases. Under the Insolvency Regulations 1994, SI 1994/2507, as amended (the Regulations), the OR or IP, as appropriate, is obliged to pay into the (ISA) any funds they receive while administering all bankruptcies and compulsory liquidations. Before 1 October 2011, sums from voluntary liquidations could also be lodged in the ISA; now, only unclaimed dividends in a voluntary liquidation may be paid into the ISA. Likewise, unclaimed dividends arising in an administration or an administrative receivership may be paid into the ISA once the company has been dissolved. The Regulations also permit payments out of the ISA for disbursements, expenses and distributions to creditors and, in a liquidation, to contributories, or, in...

This note sets out how a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) may enter creditors’ voluntary liquidation (CVL), describes the scope of the liquidator’s authority, and explains the duties of the members. It does not extend to Limited Partnerships; for guidance on those, see Practice Note: Limited partnerships and insolvency—key principles. Applicable legislation The Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000 (LLPA 2000) introduced LLPs and should be read together with the Limited Liability Partnerships Regulations 2001 (LLPR 2001), SI 2001/1090. Under the LLPR 2001, the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) and the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024, are applied to LLPs. The IA 1986 applies solely to LLPs registered in Great Britain...

Precedent Transfer A flexible Word edition of the TR1 precedent can be downloaded, stored or printed using the link on this page. Drafting notes to precedent transfer General Any mention of ‘panels’ in these drafting notes refers to the panels in HM Land Registry form TR1. The TR1 is the prescribed document, under the Land Registration Rules 2003, for transferring the whole of freehold or leasehold land. Form TR1 can also be used for transfers of the entirety of unregistered land where the disposition triggers compulsory registration, or where the transferee is certain that a voluntary application for registration will be made...

Although both liquidators and administrators may pursue a wrongful trading action under sections 214 or 246ZB of the Insolvency Act 1986, respectively, this Precedent is prepared principally from the standpoint of a liquidator advancing such proceedings...

This Agreement is entered into on [ date ] Parties [ Company Name ] [ (in liquidation, etc) ] [ (the ‘ Company ’) acting through ] [ name(s) of insolvency practitioner(s) ] [ (the ‘ Liquidator ’), (the ‘ Administrator ’), etc ] [ (and all successors in title) ] [ acting as agent for the Company, except as provided in this Agreement ] ( [ together ] the ‘ Client ’) [ both ] of [ address ]; [ Firm Name and Address ] (the ‘ Firm ’). It is hereby agreed as follows: 1 Definitions 1.1 In this Agreement: Appeal means any request for permission to appeal and/or an appeal to the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court from a lower court’s decision, or to a Judge from a decision of a District Judge, Registrar, Master or Insolvency and Companies Court Judge, in relation to the Claim Basic Costs means the fees...

As a broad principle, nothing bars a creditor from setting any supply preconditions they consider suitable, save for statutory carve-outs (typically concerning consumer credit, public policy, and unlawfulness). Acceptance of those preconditions by a third party (in your scenario an individual or another business) rests on commercial bargaining, and will be agreed or declined through negotiation between parties. See: Guide to dealing with a distressed business—overview, and Practice Note: A creditor’s guide to dealing with a company in financial difficulty...

When one company advances funds to another, the contractual provisions govern any restriction on repaying the loan before the ten-year period first contemplated. Should the lending company enter liquidation or administration, that circumstance, by itself, does not alter the contract’s terms. The office-holding insolvency practitioner should nevertheless review the agreement to determine whether it permits earlier repayment, or repayment on alternative terms, if the lending company goes into liquidation or administration. Although that may appear improbable, it remains possible, and the officeholder ought to explore every avenue to secure accelerated repayment of the borrowing. Absent an express clause to the contrary, the insolvency of the lender does not, of itself, accelerate the debt, and timing remains governed by the bargain. It would seem that the office-holding insolvency practitioner holds an appointment that must remain open for at least ten years before the loan can be discharged and a dividend distributed to creditors...

Insolvency Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024, Part 14 Part 14 of the Insolvency Rules 2016 (SI 2016/1024), which sets out how creditors’ claims are dealt with, also operates in a members’ voluntary liquidation (MVL) by reason of r 14.1(1). That rule confirms that this Part applies to administration, winding up and bankruptcy proceedings, without any restriction confining its operation to insolvent liquidations. What amounts to a provable debt in a winding up (and equally in administration and bankruptcy) is defined by r 14.2(1). Save as otherwise provided in that rule, every creditor’s claim is provable as a debt against the company or the bankrupt, whether the liability is present or future, certain or contingent, ascertained or recoverable only in damages. For further guidance, see Practice Note: Future debts, contingent debts, secured debts...