188体育

Your limited company can be liquidated (鈥榳ound up鈥�) if it cannot pay its debts.

The people or organisations your company owes money to (your 鈥榗reditors鈥�) can apply to the court to get their debts paid.

They can do this by either:

• getting a court judgment
• making an official request for payment - this is called a statutory demand

Get professional advice from a solicitor or insolvency practitioner if your company is in debt.

You have 14 days to respond to a court judgment.

To respond, you must do one of the following:

• pay the debt
• reach an agreement with the creditor to pay the debt in the future, for example by using a Company Voluntary Arrangement
• put your company into administration
• apply to liquidate (鈥榳ind up鈥�) your company yourself
• challenge the court judgment

If you do not respond to the court judgment within 14 days, your creditors can apply to have your assets seized by a bailiff or sheriff.

Your creditors can apply to wind up your company if your assets are not worth enough to pay your debts.

You have 21 days to respond to a statutory demand.

To respond, you must do one of the following:

• pay the debt
• reach an agreement with the creditor to pay the debt in the future, for example by using a Company Voluntary Arrangement
• put your company into administration
• apply to liquidate (鈥榳ind up鈥�) your company yourself

Your creditors can apply to wind up your company if you do not respond to the statutory demand within 21 days.

Stop your creditors from applying to wind up your company

You can apply to the court to stop (鈥榬estrain鈥�) your creditors from applying to wind up your company. You must do this within 21 days of getting the statutory demand.

Download and fill in application form IAA.

Which court you apply to depends on how much money shareholders have paid into your company by buying shares (鈥榩aid up share capital鈥�).

Check the Companies House register to find out your company鈥檚 paid up share capital.

Your paid up share capital is less than 拢120,000

Use the to find a court dealing with insolvency. You must use the court nearest your company鈥檚 registered office.

Your paid up share capital is more than 拢120,000

You must apply to the High Court.

Your creditors can apply to the court to close down your company. They do this by making an application called a 鈥榳inding-up petition鈥�.

They can withdraw the petition if your company pays the debt or makes an arrangement to pay it.

Attending the hearing

If the petition is accepted, the court will arrange a date for a hearing.

You must attend the hearing. Your creditors will announce when and where the hearing will take place in .

Your company can be put into the control of someone else until the hearing happens. This is known as 鈥榩rovisional liquidation鈥�.

If the court decides you cannot pay your debts

The court will issue a winding-up order.

An officer of the court (鈥榦fficial receiver鈥�) will be put in charge of winding-up your company. You must co-operate with the official receiver.

When you get a winding-up order:

• your company鈥檚 bank account will usually be frozen
• its assets or property will be sold by the official receiver

If any part of your company is bought with the intention of discontinuing the business (not running it as a 鈥榞oing concern鈥�) then your employees will lose their jobs.

Cancel a winding-up order

You can apply to cancel a winding-up order if you do not think you need to pay your creditors. You must do this within 5 working days of getting the order.