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When a company is dissolved, all of its assets pass to the Crown and are legally known as 鈥榖ona vacantia鈥� (ownerless property). Assets include:

• property and land
• mortgages
• shares
• intellectual property, for example trademarks, registered designs and patents

Claiming or buying assets

You may be able to claim money back or buy assets from the dissolved company by:

• getting a court order to restore the company - if they owe you money
• buying or claiming some of their assets - if you鈥檙e affected by the company closing
• applying for a discretionary grant - if you were a shareholder

You may be able to apply for a court order to restore a company if:

• you did business with them
• you worked for them
• they owed you money when they were dissolved
• you鈥檙e responsible for their employee pension fund
• you have a shared or competing interest in land
• you were a shareholder or director when it was dissolved

How to apply

Download and fill in a claim to restore by court order (form N208) to apply for court order restoration in England and Wales.

HM Courts and Tribunals service has guidance notes on filling in form N208 if you need help.

Find the company鈥檚 registered office and send your completed form to their nearest .

If you鈥檙e not sure where to send the form then contact the .

You鈥檒l also need to include:

• the 拢308 court fee (cash, postal order or cheque made payable to 鈥楬M Courts and Tribunals Service鈥�)

• a witness statement, containing the supporting information outlined in section 4 of the Treasury Solicitor鈥檚 guide to company restoration

In Scotland

Apply to the if the initial value of the company鈥檚 shares that have been paid for (鈥榩aid-up capital鈥�) is more than 拢120,000.

Apply to the for other companies.

You鈥檒l then have to serve a 鈥榩etition to restore鈥� on the Registrar of Companies in Scotland, and any other bodies the court asks you to.

In Northern Ireland

Apply by serving an 鈥榦riginating summons鈥� on the Royal Courts of Justice:

You also need to send this to the Registrar of Companies in Northern Ireland, along with a witness statement in support of the application.

What happens next

If your claim is accepted, the court will issue an order to restore a company - you鈥檒l be sent this, and you must send it on to the Registrar of Companies. Once they have it they will restore the company.

You鈥檒l then need to take further action to try and get your money:

• get a 鈥榡udgment鈥� from court for the amount of the money you鈥檙e owed together with interest and costs
• issue a statutory demand
• take out a winding up petition

You may be able to claim or buy an asset belonging to a dissolved company by asking the body representing the Crown. This is known as 鈥榬eferring鈥� an asset.

Who you ask depends on where the company was registered.

Anybody can refer an asset, for example if:

• you鈥檙e the leaseholder of a property where the company owned the freehold
• you want to buy or are affected by land owned by the company
• you want to buy other assets of the company like shares, trade marks or copyrights
• you鈥檙e a shareholder trying to get cash held by the company

How to refer an asset

The Treasury Solicitor looks after dissolved company assets in England and Wales (but not Cornwall or Lancashire).

Find out how to refer an asset to the Treasury Solicitor.

You can also write to:

Other bodies that represent the Crown

Elsewhere, dissolved companies鈥� assets are dealt with by:

• in Cornwall and Lancashire -
• in Scotland -
• in Northern Ireland - phone or write to the Crown Solicitor鈥檚 Office for Northern Ireland

You may be able to get back a dissolved company鈥檚 assets if you were one of its shareholders.

How to apply

In England and Wales (but not Cornwall or Lancashire) you must apply to the Government Legal Department.

How you apply depends on whether the company can be restored or not.

The Government Legal Department has guidance on what you should do if:

• the company can be restored
• the company cannot be restored

Companies in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Cornwall and Lancashire

Property owned by dissolved companies is dealt with:

• in Cornwall and Lancashire -
• in Scotland -
• in Northern Ireland - the Crown Solicitor鈥檚 Office for Northern Ireland