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Please let us know how many suppliers your company owes money to. You can be approximate if you are unsure.

Please let us know how much the total debt is that is owed to your suppliers, such as trade suppliers, business rates, utilities, etc. You can provide an approximate figure.

Please state how much is owed to the bank for any loans or overdrafts that the company has.

Please state how much is owed to HMRC for taxes owed. This should include VAT, PAYE, CIS, NI contributions and Corporation Tax.

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(approximate value of machinery, fixtures, vehicles, stock, customer invoices, etc)

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What is a CVL?

Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation
It is generally used when the company directors choose to voluntarily close the business in a way that is efficient and professional. If the company is insolvent, it is the director’s duty to act responsibly.

  • Quickly stop pressure from creditors as all correspondence is directed to us 
  • Our insolvency practitioners will manage the sales of assets and payments to creditors
  • We will make contact with all creditors including HMRC, banks and trade suppliers
  • We calculate and process employees’ claims which may allow for payments from the government to be made for redundancy and other claim (including to directors)

How does the CVL process work?
The Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation process, commonly known as CVL, is entered into on a voluntary basis in order to bring a business to an end and wind up the company. In general, a CVL will follow several months of financial distress and when the possibility of a successful turnaround has been exhausted. A CVL is the preferred process for an insolvent company to bring things to a professional conclusion.

There are three main tests to determine whether a company is insolvent, according to section 123 of the Insolvency Act 1986:

1. The balance sheet test – when the value of the company’s liabilities are greater than the value of its assets;

2. The cash flow test – when a company cannot afford to pay its liabilities when they are due; and

.3. The legal action test – if a creditor has an unpaid County Court Judgment (CCJ) or Statutory Demand.

If the company has become insolvent, then a director needs to take steps to mitigate the impact that this can have on the company’s creditors. The obligation on a director to do this is set out in law and the directors risk personal financial liability (fines) if they do not adhere to this duty.

No further credit should be obtained and you need to be careful about making payments if you do not have enough funds to pay all creditors. Choosing to pay one creditor over another could lead to further issues. Continuing to trade when you are insolvent is extremely risky as you may become personally liable for trading.

Why a CVL can help when closing down a company?
There are several options available to a company looking to address insolvency. These include Administration and CVA. These are rescue procedures which aim to help turn around struggling businesses, but these are not always the best option if the underlying business is not viable and the directors simply wish to close down the company and move on with a fresh start.

A CVL brings the company to a close and deals with the outstanding debts in the process. Assets may be used to provide a return to creditors but there is likely to be a significant shortfall. However, this is written off once the company is liquidated (except for any personally guaranteed debts).

Why a CVL can help when closing down a company?
A CVL brings the company to a close and deals with the outstanding debts in the process. Assets will be used to provide a return to creditors but there is likely to be a significant shortfall. However, this is written off once the company is liquidated (excepting any personally guaranteed debts).

How to start the CVL process
You can only enter a CVL under the guidance of a licensed insolvency practitioner who will be on hand to give you practical and technical advice. They will also be able to talk through other suitable options with you, and also highlight any potential issues that may be faced in a liquidation, such as personal guarantees. 

Once you are happy that the Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) is the right process for you, we would initially just need your company name, contact name and email address for correspondence purposes.

  • We will send you our engagement letter and terms of business to you by email for e-signing and this will also include our invoice.
  • We will invite you to access our online client portal where you will find a list of all the information that we will need, and you may begin to upload this for us to review.
  • We have a team of staff who deal with the onboarding process for all clients, you will receive their contact details at this point so that they may support you through the process.
  • We will need names, addresses, reference numbers and amounts owed to all creditors, so that we can advise them of the liquidation.
  • As your information is uploaded to the client portal we will prepare the liquidation paperwork and agree a date with you for when the company will enter liquidation. The liquidation paperwork is sent to you for e-signing.
  • Once the company is in liquidation, we will notify HMRC, the bank, all other creditors and any other parties required, ,including Companies House, and we will place the necessary adverts into the London Gazette.
  • Once the company enters liquidation our onboarding team will hand over to one of our liquidations team who will manage your liquidation through to its closure.
  • We will deal with any company assets and arrange for these to be sold and any funds held for distributing in the statutory order of preference.
  • Within three months of the date of liquidation, we will file our report on the liquidation with the government Insolvency Service.
  • All assets will need to be sold and employee claims dealt with. Once we have completed this, we will know if creditors will receive any funds from the liquidation. If there are funds for creditors, we will agree their claims and make payments to creditors.
  • If there are no funds for creditors, the liquidation should be expected to be complete within around 4 months.
  • We will file the final returns with Companies House to ensure your company is dissolved at the end of the process.
 
SimpleLiquidation.co.uk is a regulated insolvency practice

Our liquidators are authorised by the ICAEW (the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) and members of the Insolvency Practitioners Association, and R3, the insolvency trade body.

We are not an intermediary, broker or sales company.