Insolvency processes: introductory guides

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When a company’s financial position reaches a point where its liabilities exceed its assets or it is unable to pay its debts as they fall due, it may be necessary or desirable to place it into an insolvency process. Some insolvency processes are available even if the company is solvent and some may result in the rescue of the company.

In appropriate circumstances, a restructuring can serve as an alternative to an insolvency process. For more information, see: Informal restructuring tools—overview.

For an introductory guide to restructuring and insolvency, including links to our key resources, see Practice Note: Restructuring & Insolvency—new starter guide.

To access the R3 creditor guides which explain the rights of creditors during administration, administrative receivership, bankruptcy, compulsory liquidation and creditors’ voluntary liquidation, see Practice Note: R3 creditor guides.

Administration

Administration is a short-term measure for a company in financial difficulty. The administrator can be appointed out of court by a qualifying

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Latest Restructuring & Insolvency News

Insolvency Service reports director disqualifications following fabricated NHS contract fraud

The Insolvency Service has reported that Tanveer Khan and Tasneem Khan have been disqualified as company directors for 13 years and ten years respectively, following a High Court hearing in Manchester on 12 February 2026. The disqualifications arise from the fabrication of a £9.8m NHS contract and the defrauding of investors of over £2.18m through Matz Medical Limited. The company entered administration in October 2022, with creditors facing an estimated shortfall of more than £40m. Tanveer Khan used forged documents, including fake NHS purchase orders, delivery notes and bank payment confirmations, to deceive lenders and investors between March and May 2022. This occurred despite the company having been suspended from NHS Supply Chain frameworks since December 2019. A separate £16.5m claim brought by the joint administrators against Tanveer Khan for breaching directors' duties remains ongoing. Both individuals are prohibited from forming, managing or promoting a company without court permission until March 2039 and March 2036 respectively.

Restructuring & Insolvency weekly highlights—5 March 2026

This week's edition of Restructuring & Insolvency weekly highlights includes: a discussion on the powers of provisional liquidators (Aerovías Del Continente Americano v Versilia Solutions), an examination of disclosure applications in director disqualification claims (Lawless v The Secretary of State for Business and Trade), an analysis on service of a winding up petition on a default registered office (DG Resources Ltd v HMRC), plus a round-up of other news and cases for restructuring and insolvency professionals.

DBT issues updated statutory guidance on PSC ‘significant influence or control’ for companies and LLPs

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has published two statutory guidance documents on the meaning of ‘significant influence or control’ for the purposes of Schedule 1A to the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006), one for companies and one for Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs).

Paragraph 84 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986—a road-block for creditors? (Wonop APS v Jagger)

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: The High Court considered the consequences of the filing of a notice by administrators under paragraph 84(1) of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) in circumstances where those same administrators were removed and replaced by court order before the notice was registered under IA 1986, Sch B1, para 84(4). The court held that, notwithstanding the removal and replacement of the administrators, the office of administrator and the administration of the company will come to an end when the notice is registered by the Registrar of Companies. The case illustrates the difficulty in taking action in respect of an administration under IA 1986, Sch B1 if the relevant action cannot be completed before an administrator files a notice under IA 1986, Sch B1, para 84(1) that the company has no property to permit a distribution to creditors, which upon registration will trigger the three-month countdown to dissolution. Written by Nathan Webb, barrister at Forum Chambers.

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