Winding-up petition

• They are owed £750 or more.

• They are able to prove that the company cannot pay its debts as and when they fall due.

Before issuing a petition, we would recommend that consideration be given to the approximate costs involved in the process, which includes court fees of £280 and a petition deposit of £1,600, plus the costs of any lawyers engaged to assist in the issuing of the petition. We would suggest that given the legal nature of the documentation involved, a lawyer is instructed to assist you in the petition process.

A hearing date will be set to consider the petition, and the debtor will be informed if the order is subsequently made. The official receiver will be automatically appointed liquidator; however, creditors will have the opportunity to appoint an insolvency practitioner of their choice, subject to certain voting requirements.

This is your opportunity to ensure that your best interests are being represented in the process, and you should actively engage in nominating an insolvency practitioner to be appointed liquidator.

Once a winding-up order is made, and a liquidator has been appointed, the following takes place:

• Company assets are realised.
• Full investigations are undertaken into any actions that may be brought that would result in additional realisations being made for the benefit of unsecured creditors.
• If realisations allow, dividends are paid to creditors whose claims have been proved.

In summary, this is an expensive recovery procedure for creditors to undertake; therefore, all other avenues of pursuing your debt should be considered prior to the issuing of the petition, and we would recommend that you contact one of our specialists to ensure that this is the right solution for you.

Dean Nelson, Nicholas Lee, Michael Roome, Brett Barton, Andrew Stevens and Emily Oliver are all licensed in the United Kingdom to act as Insolvency Practitioners by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Brett Barton is licensed by the Insolvency Practitioners Association to act as an insolvency practitioner. They are bound by the Insolvency Code of Ethics which can be found here.
When acting as Receivers or Administrative Receivers, they act as agents only, without personal liability. In an Administrator role, the affairs, business, and property of the company are managed solely by them.
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