Closure requires more than stopping sales. Build a liability and permission inventory, obtain advice on the appropriate route, and track the evidence needed to close each workstream. Liquidation and other reserved professional tasks must be handled by appropriately qualified or authorised practitioners.
Establish the actual position
Describe why the company is stopping and whether it has assets, creditors, employees, active contracts or disputes. Identify the legal entity rather than only the trading brand. Compile the latest financial and corporate records and flag missing information. The appropriate closure or restructuring route depends on facts that cannot be established merely from an active or expired CR status. Seek qualified advice before disposing of assets or distributing remaining funds.
Protect employee and creditor workstreams
Create a list of outstanding wages, benefits, supplier balances, customer commitments and potential claims. Employee permits, insurance and social insurance administration may need separate action. Record the relevant adviser and authority for each task. Do not assume that a shareholder agreement to close the company settles third-party rights. The plan should show which decisions require professional input and which obligations need evidence of resolution.
Coordinate tax, licences and bank close-out
Review accounting records, tax and VAT matters, sector approvals, address commitments and bank accounts. Authorities and banks can have separate evidence requirements. Keep enough access to records and accounts to complete necessary transactions under appropriate advice. Closing an account too early or abandoning a portal can complicate the remaining work. The sequence should be confirmed for the actual company rather than copied from an unrelated closure.
Retain the final history
Create a completion index showing the outcome of each workstream and any continuing record-retention duty identified by advisers. Preserve corporate decisions, authority evidence and the relevant financial handover with controlled access. A final internal checklist should distinguish completed legal closure from commercial inactivity and unresolved matters. This helps owners understand what remains their responsibility after the business has ceased operating.
Before you take the next step
Can an inactive company still have obligations?
Yes. Inactivity alone does not establish that renewals, filings, creditor matters or other responsibilities have ended. Review the actual status and applicable route.
Does this website act as liquidator?
No such professional capacity is claimed. An enquiry can scope coordination and identify the need for appropriately qualified professionals and any required appointments.
Continue your planning
Restructuring and company closure
Coordinate amendments, conversions, transfers, acquisitions and liquidation as controlled changes with a complete record of liabilities, authority decisions and linked account close-outs.
02Accounting, VAT and tax coordination
Organise bookkeeping, VAT, tax coordination and audit preparation around the legal entity so transaction records and statutory details tell the same business story.
03HR, payroll and workforce planning
Coordinate employee administration, payroll inputs, WPS, recruitment documentation and benefit records so changes can be traced across company and employment administration files.