Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Insolvency definition

What does Insolvency mean? In practice, insolvency describes a financial state where a debtor cannot meet liabilities when due, triggering remedies such as administration, liquidation or bankruptcy and informing directors’ duties and avoidance claims. For companies in England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Insolvency Act 1986, s 123 sets two alternative tests: - Cash‑flow insolvency: an inability to pay debts as they fall due. The inquiry is practical and forward‑looking, not confined to today’s bills (Re Patrick & Lyon Ltd [1933] Ch 786; BNY Corporate Trustee Services Ltd v Eurosail [2013] UKSC 28). - Balance‑sheet insolvency: liabilities (including contingent and prospective liabilities) exceed assets on...

Using the Insolvency Services Account: obligations of official receivers and insolvency practitioners, EAS processes, investments/interest, local account authorisations, unclaimed dividends and fees in bankruptcies and compulsory liquidations

Published by a LexisNexis Restructuring & Insolvency expert

Practice notes

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 a bankruptcy, any surplus to the bankrupt. By contrast, an administrator may utilise their own...

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Mark Sands

Opus Business Advisory Group

Mark has nearly 40 years of experience in the insolvency profession, with more than 15 years as an appointment taking insolvency practitioner. Mark’s focus for the last 20 years has been on personal and contentious insolvency cases, with several years spent at a litigation funder reviewing insolvency claims for funding. Mark worked on several reported personal insolvency cases, which still influence insolvency practice today. Mark’s last few roles have had a national footprint as a result of which Mark is as well known in the regional centres as in London. At Opus Mark is leading and developing their personal insolvency offering....

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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