Land Owned by a Liquidated Company

[Jmracing66]

Hi All,

I’m potentially interested in purchasing a small piece of land that I believe is owned by a company that has been or is in the process of being liquidated.

Does anyone have any experience of this situation and have any words of advice of how to proceed ?

Cheers !

Edited by Jmracing66 on Wednesday 17th June 21:29

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

If it's a company the administrator/liquidator/other insolvency type will be a matter of public record. Contact them, they'll be happy to hear from you.

[williaa68]

If the liquidation process has been completed then it’s complicated. You may have to go through the process of having the company restored. You would have to really want the land.

[Jmracing66]

Thanks, the company status is ‘liquidation’ does that mean it’s ongoing or completed ? If it has completed who owns the land ?

[TooLateForAName]

Either the land was sold off or it now belongs to the crown.

[Miserablegit]

If the company is still in liquidation then contact the liquidator whose details will be on the companies house page for the company.

The liquidator will want to sell the assets of the company to cover fees/ return a dividend to creditors. The liquidator might have already sold the land.

The key aspect of dealing with a liquidator is he or she won’t be giving any title guarantee or warranties. They are not in a position to have researched all of the company’s rights/liabilities in assets. Accordingly any sale will be for “whatever right title or interest the company has in the land”. Do your homework and bid accordingly. The liquidator has probably obtained a valuation for the land but you might get a bargain- likewise you might pay good money for what amounts to nothing at all. Get yourself to a good insolvency lawyer who will do this all the time and can advise you properly.
If the liquidation has ended then the company will be dissolved and any assets go bona vacantia- the company can be restored but there is extra expense in doing so.

[So]

Jmracing66 said:

Hi All,

I’m potentially interested in purchasing a small piece of land that I believe is owned by a company that has been or is in the process of being liquidated.

Does anyone have any experience of this situation and have any words of advice of how to proceed ?

Cheers !

Edited by Jmracing66 on Wednesday 17th June 21:29

Don't assume that just because it's owned by a liquidating company you'll be able to buy it, or buy it cheaply.

If it's worth having, the directors of the company might well buy it. Some people imagine that directors of a failed company are plunged into penury, which very often is not the case. They are frequently able to make the liquidator an offer for selected assets of the closing company.

[Jmracing66]

Thanks all...looking at the land title with the land registry, its still comes up with the Registered Owner(s) being the liquidated company...so I assume that this hasn't been sold on otherwise would the register not be changed ?

Anyway...I will contact the liquidator and see what they have to say - thanks again.

[So]

Jmracing66 said:

Thanks all...looking at the land title with the land registry, its still comes up with the Registered Owner(s) being the liquidated company...so I assume that this hasn't been sold on otherwise would the register not be changed ?

Anyway...I will contact the liquidator and see what they have to say - thanks again.

That's the way to go.

Insolvency Practitioners aren't renowned for their panther-like speed, so it may well be that he just hasn't got round to addressing the change of title.

[IJWS15]

If you look up the company on the Companies House website (Webcheck) it will tell you who the administrator is and what the exact status of the company is. It can be 2 weeks out of date.

Contact the administrator, you will probably end up speaking to one of his minions.

[Oi_Oi_Savaloy]

Also - look their name up on the London Gazette (either company or the directors) - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/

You have to register but that takes 1 min.

If you don't get a hit by the name try the company number too.