Company Closure / Dissolution
Running a company isn't always easy for all directors, especially when the company is not doing any business or making any revenue with the company still being obliged by law to make all necessary fillings, this includes annual Confirmation Statement filling, filling of your Corporation Tax and Annual Accounts. This may cause directors to feel overwhelmed to maintain the costs of running the company and maintaining sufficient cashflow. In such scenarios it may be the best for directors to close down the company and start fresh again once situations become better.
However, company closure (dissolution) process can be difficult to understand for someone who does not have relevant expertise and knowledge. If you are also in a similar situation and would like to close your company you have come to the right place.
We offer a complete service at a very low cost to close a UK registered company with all relevant guidance provided to the directors during the dissolution process. Our service not only includes submission of your company closure (dissolution) application but also includes communicating with Companies House on your behalf to address any queries they may have.
Once the application is accepted by Companies House the company closure (dissolution) process takes a minimum of 8 weeks to complete. During this period Companies House ensure that there are no objections from any relevant / interested parties to your company closure (dissolution).
We will also allow you to use our address as company's registered and correspondence address for free during the dissolution process. If you are an existing virtual office customer, we will allow you to use our address for free once your existing virtual office subscription expires. Customers who do not have virtual office subscription with us and wish to use our address as their company’s registered office address and correspondence address during the dissolution process can email us after making the order and we will allocate you with a unique address for your company.
If you have missing documents or codes from Companies House, we will even help you to get them for free at no additional cost.
We can also help you close your company offline using a paper application if required. This includes preparing all required paperwork and sending it to Companies House on your behalf. If you need us to submit a paper application then simply email us after making your order.
Cheap Price Guaranteed!
only
This is equivalent to approximately
- Digital Service
- Fast Service
- Handle all queries from Companies House
- Ensure Legal Compliance
- Free Appeal
- Publishing an announcement in the Local Gazette
- Update of the Companies House Register
Cheap Price Guaranteed!
only
This is equivalent to approximately
- Digital Service
- Fast Service
- Handle all queries from Companies House
- Ensure Legal Compliance
- Free Appeal
- Publishing an announcement in the Local Gazette
- Update of the Companies House Register
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Terms of Use
1) Which ID documents are needed?
See here for the ID documents that we need. Click here
2) How much time does the company closure / dissolution process takes to complete?
Companies House take a minimum of 8 weeks to process the application and dissolve a company. During this time any member of the public can contact Companies House and contest the closure of the company.
3) Do I need to submit Confirmation Statement even if I am closing my company?
The filing of a Confirmation statement is a statutory requirement. If it is due for filing or if you are late for filing it, then it is recommended that you file a confirmation statement even if you are closing your company to ensure that everything is in order. Please let us know if you need us to do this for you.
4) Do I need to submit Annual Accounts even if I am closing my company?
You must file final statutory accounts and a Company Tax Return before closing your company. This can be done before or after the initial company closure application has been submitted but must be done so before the company closes. Please contact us if you would like assistance with doing this.
5) Should I inform anyone before or after closing a company?
You must inform all interested parties about your company closure within 7 days of the application being submitted. It is a criminal offence not to tell all interested parties that an application has been made to close the company. This can be done by providing signed copy of the “strike off” application form to all relevant parties. We will provide you with all the necessary paperwork.
Read All of Our FAQ's and Terms
Everything that you need to know about closing your UK Limited Company.
Running a business can be stressful and a little overwhelming at times. You’re under constant stress to ensure goods and services are being sourced at the right price from suppliers. Then you need to ensure that you can find customers and resell your products and services to them at a price that is acceptable to both of you, whilst simultaneously maintaining the quality of the services and products that you’re providing. If this is not challenging enough you also have a whole host of other expenses to weigh up which are forever eating into your cash flow and profits. These can be an entire list of fixed and / or variable costs related to rent, staff costs, insurance, transportation, packaging, utility bills and accountancy and bookkeeping fees to name just a few.
Some businesses may not even make it to the starting line. Initial hurdles and barriers to entry sometimes get underestimated and miscalculated leading to some businesses to fail to even get off the ground.
Running a business is not always easy and for many the stresses and emotions involved can get a little too much. There is no shame in throwing the towel in while you’re still at grips with your sanity and purse strings! In most cases closing your UK company is the most sensible thing to do cut your losses.
Especially when you take into consideration that you still have to make statutory filings to Companies House and HMRC while your company remains open, regardless of whether you are actively trading or making a profit or not. These filings include your annual filing of your Confirmation Statement and filing your annual accounts with Companies House and as well as filing Corporation Tax with HMRC. The moment your UK Ltd company is dissolved you are free from these filing obligations that keep many an entrepreneur up at night with worry!
The UK Ltd company closure process (also known as the processing of dissolving a company) can be difficult to understand for someone who does not have the relevant expertise and knowledge.
Thankfully experts like us can assist you with striking off your UK company in the correct and legal way so as to relieve you of all future filing obligations with Companies House and HMRC.
We offer a cheap and complete company dissolution service. We can close your UK registered company with all relevant guidance provided to the directors during the company closure process.
Here’s a small guide on what to do and what to expect during the process.
Before dissolving your company, you need to ensure that you are eligible to shut it down.
You can only strike off and dissolve your company if:
- a) it has not traded or sold off any stock in the last 3 months,
- b) has not changed its name in the last 3 months,
- c) is not threatened with any type of liquidation action,
- d) has no agreements with creditors, for example a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).
If you do not fulfil the above criteria, then you cannot strike off your company. Instead, you will need to voluntarily liquidate your company which is a separate process. Contact us for information if you need to explore this route.
If you are ready to take the next step in closing your company for good, then there are certain responsibilities that you will need to fulfil first.
Before nailing the lid shut on your company you need to:
- - Make all staff redundant by following the correct process and procedures.
- - Pay all final wages and salaries.
- - Settle all PAYE and National Insurance (NI) contributions with HMRC and also inform them that you have stopped trading.
- - All assets belonging to the business should either be shared or sold with all proceeds shared, between the shareholders. Sometimes transferring / removing assets from a business can result in the realisation of capital gains tax or even a personal income tax liability. You will need to consult us or an accountant if this is applicable to you.
- - You need to file a final set of accounts with HMRC and Companies House and also file a tax return for Corporation Tax. The accounts should be clearly marked as the final set of accounts for the company. If the company has not traded, then dormant accounts can be filed. If the company has traded but made a loss, you may be able to offset it against profits realised in previous years.
Once your application to dissolve your company is lodged with Companies House then you have to serve notice to all interested parties within 7 calendar days. Interested parties include:
- - all shareholders,
- - all creditors,
- - ll company employees,
- - managers and / or trustees of any pension fund that the company had
- - any directors who did not sign the application to close the company.
Notice should be served by giving all interested parties a copy of the form completed to apply for company strike off action. We will provide this to you as soon as the application is submitted to Companies House. Serving notice and filing accounts and a tax return are a legal requirement.
Once Companies House accept the application a public notice is printed in the local Gazette and a date of approximately 60 days is set as the official strike off date for the company. If a member of the public wishes to contest and block the dissolution of the company, they can do so by contacting Companies House. If Companies House agree that a complainant has a valid case to block the striking off, of a company, they can suspen strike off action. This gives the complainant time to take necessary action to recover and funds or assets that they may feel that they are due. This including by taking legal action in a court of law.
Once 60 days have passed (and providing nobody has objected to the closure of your company) Companies House will change the status of your company to dissolved and it will officially be closed. Your bank accounts will automatically be closed by your bank.
If the company employed staff, you are required to keep copies of its employers’ liability insurance policy and schedule. You will also need to keep all business documents for 7 years after the company is struck off, for example bank statements, invoices and receipts. Other than this, your obligations to the company are now free and you can go and look forward to taking the next step in your life.