Guides for insolvency practitioners and business recovery
Plain-English guides to UK company rules and checks: what a company's status means, what it has to file and when, and what to check before you trade with it, lend to it or take it on as a client.
- Winding-up petitions: how to find them and what they meanGuide
Search The Gazette by company name or number for notice code 2450, 'Petitions to wind up (Companies)'. In England and Wales the notice must appear at least seven business days after the company is served and seven business days before the hearing. If a winding-up order follows, the company's payments after the petition date can be void.
- How to check if a director is disqualifiedHow-to
Search the person's name on the Companies House disqualified directors register, which records court orders, Insolvency Service undertakings, competition disqualifications and sanctions-based bans, with start dates, reasons and any court permission to act. Also search the bankruptcy and insolvency register, because an undischarged bankrupt cannot act as a director without the court's permission.
- Net current liabilities and net liabilities: what they meanDefinition
Net current liabilities means a company's creditors due within one year exceed its current assets such as stock, debtors and cash. Net liabilities means its total liabilities exceed its total assets, so capital and reserves are negative. The first is a short-term liquidity signal, the second a solvency signal; neither alone proves insolvency.
- Which UK sectors have the most companies with net liabilities? Filing and solvency by sector, 2026Data study
Hospitality has the highest share of companies with net liabilities: 27.8% of active UK hospitality companies with accounts dated in the 24 months to 3 October 2026, against 18.3% of all active companies with recent accounts, CompanyStack's analysis of the Companies House register shows. Real estate is next at 25.2%; health and social work is lowest, at 13.4%.
- Warning signs a UK company is in financial troubleGuide
Public warning signs include overdue accounts or confirmation statements, falling or negative net assets, rising tax creditors, new all-assets charges, a going-concern warning, auditor or director departures, a registered office moved to the Companies House default address, and Gazette notices such as winding-up petitions. Slow or part payments in your own ledger often come first.
- What active proposal to strike off means on Companies HouseDefinition
Active proposal to strike off means Companies House has published a notice in The Gazette that the company will be removed from the register. Either Companies House believes it is no longer carrying on business, or its directors have applied to close it. Unless the strike-off is stopped, the company can be dissolved once two months have passed.
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