UK company directors reviewing financial documents with an advisor
Independent UK insolvency guidance

Straight answers when your company can’t pay its debts.

No jargon, no sales pitch — just clear, accurate guidance on liquidation, winding-up petitions, director liability and every alternative, sourced from HMRC and official guidance.

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In 40 seconds

Company insolvency means a business can no longer pay its debts when they fall due, or its liabilities exceed its assets. Your options depend on whether the business can be rescued. If it can’t, the usual route is a Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) — a director-led, formal closure run by a licensed insolvency practitioner. If it can, a CVA or administration may save it. Acting early protects you personally; ignoring a winding-up petition is the one thing that turns a manageable problem into a serious one. Every formal procedure in the UK must, by law, be handled by a licensed insolvency practitioner.

7
days — the window to act on a winding-up petition before it’s advertised
£3–6k
typical CVL fee for a small company, paid from asset realisations
100%
of formal insolvencies must be run by a licensed practitioner
0
obligation — the first conversation is free and confidential
The answer library

Every question a worried director actually asks.

Organised the way you think about the problem — what it is, what it costs, what happens, what you’re personally exposed to, and how the options compare.

The process

What each formal route actually involves, start to finish.

Pillar guide

Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation (CVL)

The complete guide to closing an insolvent company the right way — cost, process, timeline and your duties as a director.

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 Process

Compulsory liquidation

What happens when a creditor forces your company into liquidation through the court — and whether you can still take control.

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 Process

How do I liquidate my company?

The full route from boardroom decision to dissolution — each step explained in plain English.

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 Process

How do I close a limited company with debts?

The right way to close an insolvent company — and why a quick strike-off is the wrong one.

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 Process

How long does liquidation take?

From the decision to close, to the day the company disappears from the register — the realistic timeline.

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 Process

How do I put a company into administration?

The practical steps to place an insolvent but viable UK company into administration — who can appoint, the out-of-court route, and the protective moratorium.

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 Process

How do I choose and appoint an insolvency practitioner?

How to check an insolvency practitioner is properly licensed, compare quotes, and ask the right questions before you appoint.

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 Process

What is the creditors’ decision process and deemed consent?

How creditors now approve decisions in a UK insolvency — deemed consent, correspondence and virtual meetings, since physical meetings were abolished as the default.

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 Process

What happens to company assets in liquidation?

How a liquidator turns company assets into cash — and the strict legal order in which the money is then paid out.

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 Process

What happens to employees when a company is liquidated?

Redundancy, unpaid wages and the government safety net — what staff are entitled to and how they claim.

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 Process

What happens to directors after liquidation?

The conduct report, your freedom to start again, and the one trap to avoid — reusing the company name.

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 Process

Can I start a new company after liquidation?

When you can set up again after a company is liquidated — and the “phoenix” name rules that catch directors who reuse the old name.

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The cost

Straight numbers, and who actually pays them.

Cost

How much does liquidation cost?

Real fee ranges for a CVL, what they cover, and how the cost is met when the company has no cash.

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 Cost

How much does company administration cost?

What it really costs to put a company into administration — what drives the fees, and where the money comes from.

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 Cost

How much does a CVA cost?

The two fees behind a Company Voluntary Arrangement — drafting the deal, then running it — and how the cost compares to closing down.

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 Cost

How much does a Members’ Voluntary Liquidation cost?

What an MVL costs to close a solvent company tax-efficiently — and when the fee easily pays for itself.

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 Cost

Who pays for liquidation if the company has no money?

How an insolvent company with nothing left still gets closed properly — and where the fee actually comes from.

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 Cost

How are liquidator fees set and approved?

The three ways a liquidator can charge, who has to sign it off, and the safeguards that stop fees running away.

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What it is

Plain-English definitions of every term and procedure.

Definition

What is insolvency?

What it really means for a UK company to be insolvent — the two legal tests, and the difference between insolvency and simply having a tight month.

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 Definition

What is an insolvency practitioner?

What an IP does, why the law requires one, and how to choose a licensed practitioner you can trust.

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 Definition

Members’ Voluntary Liquidation (solvent)

Closing a healthy company tax-efficiently and extracting reserves — the solvent cousin of a CVL.

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 Definition

What is a company voluntary arrangement (CVA)?

A formal, legally binding agreement that lets a viable but struggling company repay its creditors over time and keep trading.

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 Definition

What is company administration?

A formal procedure that places a struggling company under the protection of a court-recognised moratorium while an administrator works to rescue or realise it.

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 Definition

What is a pre-pack administration?

A sale of a struggling company’s business and assets that is negotiated before the administrator is appointed and completed the moment they are.

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 Definition

What is the Official Receiver?

A civil servant and officer of the Insolvency Service who steps in to take control of a company or estate at the start of a compulsory liquidation or bankruptcy.

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 Definition

What is a statutory demand?

A formal written demand for an undisputed debt that gives a company 21 days to pay before the creditor can petition to wind it up.

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 Definition

What is wrongful trading?

A civil liability under s.214 Insolvency Act 1986 for directors who carry on trading when they should have known the company could not avoid insolvent liquidation.

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 Definition

What is fraudulent trading?

Carrying on a company’s business with intent to defraud creditors — a civil liability under s.213 and a serious criminal offence.

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 Definition

What is a debenture (fixed and floating charge)?

The security document a lender uses to take a charge over a company’s assets — and how fixed and floating charges decide who gets paid first.

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 Definition

What is director disqualification?

A ban under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 that stops a person acting as a director or being involved in managing a company for between 2 and 15 years.

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Your personal risk

The questions that keep directors awake — answered honestly.

Risk

Am I personally liable if my company is liquidated?

Personal guarantees, overdrawn director’s loans, wrongful trading and the line between a clean exit and a costly one.

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 Risk

I can’t pay my Bounce Back Loan

What really happens to a personally-unguaranteed BBL in liquidation — and the misuse that does create liability.

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 Risk

Winding-up petition: what to do

How to respond to a winding-up petition, the deadlines that matter, and the window that changes everything.

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 Risk

HMRC winding-up petition

How to respond when HMRC petitions to wind up your company, and the seven-day window that changes everything.

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 Risk

What happens to an overdrawn director’s loan account in liquidation?

Why an overdrawn loan account becomes a debt the liquidator must collect from you personally — and how repayment is usually handled.

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 Risk

What happens to a personal guarantee when my company is liquidated?

Why liquidating the company does not erase a personal guarantee — and what the lender can do to recover the debt from you.

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 Risk

My company can’t pay its VAT bill — what happens?

What HMRC does when VAT goes unpaid — from surcharges and Time to Pay to enforcement and, ultimately, a winding-up petition.

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 Risk

My company can’t pay corporation tax — what are my options?

How to handle an unaffordable corporation tax bill — Time to Pay, interest and enforcement, and where corporation tax ranks if the company fails.

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 Risk

My company can’t pay its debts — what should I do?

The first, calm steps when the money runs out — recognising insolvency, protecting creditors, and understanding the routes open to you.

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 Risk

What is a preference payment in insolvency?

Paying one creditor ahead of the rest in the run-up to insolvency — why a liquidator can unwind it, and when a director becomes personally exposed.

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 Risk

What is a transaction at undervalue?

Selling or giving away company assets for less than they are worth before insolvency — and why a liquidator can set the deal aside.

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 Risk

What is director misfeasance in insolvency?

A fast-track court remedy for directors who breach their duties or misapply company money — and why it can mean paying personally.

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Compare your options

Side-by-side, so you can see which route fits your situation.

Comparison

CVL vs administration vs CVA vs strike-off

The four ways out of trouble compared on cost, control, who it suits and what it protects.

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 Comparison

CVL vs compulsory liquidation: what’s the difference?

Two ways an insolvent company is wound up — one you choose, one a creditor forces — and why the difference matters for directors.

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 Comparison

Administration vs liquidation: which is right?

One route tries to save the business or its value; the other closes the company down. How to tell which fits your situation.

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 Comparison

CVA vs administration: what’s the difference?

Two rescue tools for a viable company — keep control and repay over time, or hand control to an administrator behind a moratorium.

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 Comparison

Liquidation vs dissolution (strike-off): what’s the difference?

Two ways to end a company — a formal liquidation run by a practitioner, or a simple strike-off — and the one that is wrong when you owe money.

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 Comparison

Voluntary vs compulsory strike-off: what’s the difference?

One strike-off you ask for, one the Registrar forces — how they differ, who can object, and how a company is restored.

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 Comparison

Company insolvency vs personal bankruptcy: what’s the difference?

A limited company is a separate legal person — so its failure is not your bankruptcy. But there are situations where a director’s own finances are still on the line.

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 Comparison

CVL vs MVL: what’s the difference?

Both are voluntary liquidations a director starts — but one closes an insolvent company and one a solvent one, with very different tax outcomes.

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How it works

From worried to a clear plan, in three steps.

You don’t need to know the right procedure before you call. That’s the practitioner’s job.

  1. Tell us what’s happening. A short, confidential conversation — the debts, the pressure, any court paperwork. No obligation, no cost.
  2. Get matched to a licensed IP. We connect you with an IPA- or ICAEW-licensed insolvency practitioner who handles your situation and area.
  3. Choose your route with confidence. They explain your real options — rescue or closure — the cost, and exactly what happens next.

Worried about a debt, a deadline or a petition?

Speak to a licensed insolvency practitioner today. It’s free, confidential, and there’s no obligation to go any further.

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