Winding-Up Petitions in the headlines

Published: 26/05/2021 By Andrew Bailey

The topic of Winding-Up petitions has grabbed headlines because of Government steps to prevent them being presented during the pandemic. From a creditors perspective I get the impression that they are often seen as the final step with no genuine expectation of receiving any funds back from the subsequent liquidation. This does not need to be the case.
 
Creditors seem to often overlook that they can seek to appoint an independent Liquidator to replace the Official Receiver as Liquidator providing there is enough creditor support to do so. Creditors and their solicitors that approach me with potential cases often seem apologetic for feeling like they are wasting my time. It is never a waste of my time to see if I can help with these types of cases.
 
I think this will be an important area in the coming years as we look into the fall out of the pandemic and in particular fraud relating to the Government initiatives. It is not something for most directors to worry about where they have acted reasonably. However, it should be a concern for those directors who have sought to benefit personally from recent events and taken advantage of the situation. A Winding-Up Order against their company is not likely to be the end of the matter.