The company that owes you money has gone bust

Find out what actually happened

Companies House tells you in two minutes: in liquidation or administration, a proposed strike-off, or already dissolved. Each has a different playbook — and a debtor who merely claims to be 'going under' while still trading is a different situation again: that's a reason to escalate recovery immediately, not to write off.

Formal insolvency: claim, and check your special rights

Register your claim (a proof of debt) with the insolvency practitioner. Be realistic: unsecured trade creditors often recover little — but not always nothing, and it costs almost nothing to be in the queue.

Then check the two levers that beat the queue: retention of title (if your terms include it, identifiable goods you supplied may still be yours to reclaim — act fast) and personal guarantees (a director's guarantee survives the company's death, and pursuing the guarantor is standard recovery work).

Strike-off and dissolution

You can object to a proposed strike-off while your debt is outstanding — a simple, effective block. If the company is already dissolved, restoration to the register is possible and sometimes worth it, particularly where assets or an insurance policy exist. This is exactly the territory where an agency with legal partners earns its fee.