Roles, powers, duties and functions of an insolvency office-holder

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General

While only a licensed insolvency practitioner (IP) can advise on and undertake appointments in all formal insolvency procedures, the official receiver (OR) does not need to be a licensed IP and neither do certain receivers/managers.

Anyone who wishes to practise as an IP needs to pass examination papers set by the Joint Insolvency Examination Board or have an equivalent qualification from another accounting regulatory body. Once the exams have been passed, it is necessary to meet the authorising body's insolvency experience requirements.

For further reading on the ability of persons to act as IPs and court sanction of IPs in public interest cases, see Practice Note: Insolvency practitioners and their qualification.

Regulatory issues

IPs are subject to oversight and inspection by their recognised professional body (RPB).

There are three RPBs namely the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Insolvency Practitioners’ Association (IPA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. With effect from 1 June 2025, upon its request, the recognition of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland as a RPB was revoked.

Although

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Latest Restructuring & Insolvency News

Section 234 of the Insolvency Act 1986 stops short of trespassers (Maher & Another v Investalet Ltd)

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: The High Court rejected an application by the joint administrators of Pocket Renting Ltd (the Company) under section 234 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) for vacant possession of five residential properties owned by the Company. The court held that IA 1986, s 234 cannot be used to compel persons in occupation as mere trespassers to give up possession, because a trespasser’s possessory title is not the kind of ‘property’ that can be ‘paid, delivered, conveyed, surrendered or transferred’ under the section. While the court considered that the Company would be entitled to possession in ordinary CPR 55 proceedings, the chosen route under IA 1986, s 234 was the wrong one. The decision applies and develops the Court of Appeal’s reasoning in Carvill-Biggs v Reading and is significant for office-holders dealing with intermediate landlords and unauthorised occupiers. Written by Camilla Whitehouse, barrister and head of chambers, Gainsborough Law.

Insolvency Service announces sentencing of construction director for British Gas invoice fraud

The Insolvency Service has announced that Nicholas Couch, director of Frontier Technical Services Ltd, has received a 15-month prison sentence (suspended for 20 months) and disqualified as a director for four years, after admitting fraud and falsifying accounting records. Couch submitted a false invoice claiming British Gas had completed £20,869 of gas installation work at a Kent apartment conversion and later created a fake bank statement to conceal the deception. He is required to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and pay £5,000 compensation and £2,500 costs following investigations.

No right to full compensation following divestment order under the National Security and Investment Act (R (on the application of L1T FM Holdings Ltd and Letterone Core Investments Sàrl) v Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Cabinet Office)

Banking and Finance analysis: This news analysis looks at the decision in L1T FM Holdings Ltd, in which the Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court that the Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the ECHR did not require full compensation to be made following a forced sale under the National Security and Investment Act 2021.

Insolvency Service reports Derby businessman jailed for BBL fraud

The Insolvency Service has reported that a Derby-based businessman, Temidola Ojelabi, has been sentenced to two years and four months’ imprisonment at Derby Crown Court on 10 December 2025 for fraudulently obtaining £80,000 through two separate Bounce Back Loan (BBL) applications for Platinum Gates Limited. Ojelabi has also been disqualified as a company director for eight years. Ojelabi secured £35,000 in May 2020 after declaring a turnover of £150,000, followed by a second loan of £45,000 in June 2020 claiming a turnover of £180,000, despite businesses being entitled to only one loan. Within days of receiving each loan, the funds were transferred into his personal account, with £29,800 subsequently moved to share dealing platforms, instead of being used to support business operations as required. The Insolvency Service is pursuing recovery of the fraudulently obtained funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002).

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