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A Creditors Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) is a process that happens when an insolvent Limited Company comes to an end and closes. It is a formal procedure where a licensed insolvency practitioner is engaged by the director(s) of the company to handle the process.

Compulsory Liquidation happens when a creditor presents a winding up petition in court, stating that the company owes them money but cannot repay. Any creditor can petition, however HMRC are usually the ones to do so as the process costs them money.

This is a way of closing a Limited Company that is solvent - its assets outweigh any liabilities. This can be a tax efficient way for Directors to withdraw remaining funds from their company before closing it.

Company dissolution, also known as 'striking off', is the method of removing a company name from Companies House. This brings the legal existence of the company to an end, concluding all its trade activities.

‘Gone into Administration’ is a familiar phrase we often see in business news headlines when a company has hit hard times. From football clubs to high-street retail brands, many a household name organisation has ‘gone into administration’, some emerging out the other side to trade another day, others disappearing into the annals of corporate history. 

In the UK, bankruptcy is a legal process designed to give individuals who are unable to repay their debts relief from their financial obligations and protection from enforcement action by creditors.