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UK insolvency, explained
Clear, practical guides to liquidation, administration, CVAs and company distress — written for directors, creditors and anyone trying to make sense of the register.
What Is a CVL? Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation Explained
A plain-English guide to Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation (CVL): what it means, how the process works step by step, what it costs and what happens to directors.
Read guideAdministration vs Liquidation: What's the Difference?
Administration rescues, liquidation closes. A clear comparison of the two main UK corporate insolvency procedures — who controls the company, what happens to jobs, and which creditors get paid.
What Happens When a Company Goes Into Administration?
What 'going into administration' actually means for a UK company: the moratorium, who runs the business, what happens to staff, customers and suppliers, and how it usually ends.
Pre-Pack Administration Explained (and Why It's Controversial)
A pre-pack administration sells a business the instant it enters administration. How pre-packs work, the SIP 16 and connected-party rules, and why they divide opinion.
How to Check If a Company Is Insolvent (Free UK Register Search)
Step-by-step ways to check whether a UK company is in liquidation, administration or a CVA — using Companies House, The Gazette, the insolvency register and Insolvency List, all free.
The Insolvency Act 1986: A Plain-English Guide
The Insolvency Act 1986 is the backbone of UK corporate and personal insolvency law. A jargon-free tour of what it covers — liquidation, administration, CVAs, wrongful trading — and how later reforms updated it.
UK Retail & DIY Administrations: Why the High Street Keeps Failing
Retail and DIY chains keep entering administration. The structural pressures behind the failures, what happens to shops, staff and gift cards, and how to track new retail administrations.
CVA vs CVL: Rescue the Company or Wind It Up?
A CVA keeps a company trading under a creditor-approved repayment deal; a CVL closes an insolvent company for good. How the two differ, and how to tell which fits.
How to Read a Gazette Insolvency Notice
The Gazette is the UK's official record of insolvency. How to find, read and interpret its notices — winding-up petitions, liquidator appointments, administrations and creditors' meetings.
How to Find and Choose a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner
What a licensed insolvency practitioner does, how they're regulated, how to check someone is genuinely licensed, and the questions to ask before you appoint one.
Members' Voluntary Liquidation (MVL): Closing a Solvent Company
An MVL is how a solvent company is closed down tax-efficiently. What it is, when it makes sense, how the declaration of solvency works, and how it differs from a CVL.
Companies House: What It Is and How to Use It (Free)
Companies House is the UK's official company register. What it records, how to search it free, what its insolvency-related flags mean, and how to spot early warning signs.