Q&As

Overseas Dissolved Company Assets: Bona Vacantia in UK

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Published by a LexisNexis Corporate expert

Published on: 20 August 2020

Do the English property and assets of a dissolved overseas company pass to the Crown as bona vacantia?

When a company registered in England and Wales is Dissolved, all property and rights vested in or held on trust for it (including leasehold property) will be deemed Bona vacantia (meaning ‘ownerless property’) at the date of Dissolution and will vest in and belong to the Crown (or the Duchy of Lancaster or Duchy of Cornwall, as may be appropriate).

The treatment of companies incorporated outside the UK (overseas companies) is dealt with in Part 34 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006), which gives the Secretary

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Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

Dissolved definition

What does Dissolved mean?

In relation to a company, where that company ceases to exist as a legal entity at companies house.

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