As a company creditor, presenting a winding up petition to close a company down is a technical process, but given the severity of the potential repercussions for the debtor, it’s only right this is the case. The Insolvency Rules detail the content that needs to be included in the winding up petition and the witness statement that must be drafted to support the petition
When completing a winding up petition, it’s essential all the details are provided. That includes relevant registered company information, share capital (issued and paid up), debt, interest and other key details. Errors in the details provided or the wording of a winding up petition can be extremely serious and lead to the winding up petition being dismissed and the petitioner being left to pay the costs.
This is the process to draft and present a winding up petition…
- You should complete, print and submit the Form and make three copies
- The winding up petition Form must specify the grounds on which it is being presented and the relief sought by the petitioner.
- If the petition includes debts due to other creditors, each debt must be individually verified.
- You must ensure the company’s details are correct, some of which you can check here.
- You must state if any European Community regulations apply (if the company is registered in England and Wales) and ask the court the restore the company if it has been dissolved.
- You’ll also need to provide evidence that the company owes you money. That could include the details of a statutory demand or court judgement.
- The petition must be verified by an affidavit that the statements made in the petition are true.
- The affidavit can be made by the petitioner or by some other person, such as a company director or company secretary, who has been involved in the matters giving rise to the petition, or some individual who is duly authorised to make the affidavit.
- If the affidavit is not made by the petitioner, the individual involved must identify themselves and specify:
- The capacity in which they make the affidavit; and
- How they know about the matters included in the petition.
- The petition and the affidavit should then be sent to the High Court if the company has a ‘paid up share capital’ of more than £120,000. If the paid up share capital is less than £120,000, find the address of the company’s registered office at Companies House then use the court finder to find the nearest court to the company’s registered office that deals with insolvency matters.
- On receiving the winding up petition, the court will fix a date for the hearing.
- The court will return a sealed copy of the petition to the petitioner which will include the date and the time of the hearing.
- The petitioner must present a sealed copy of the petition to the company. This must take place at least 14 days before the date of the hearing.
- You must then provide a certificate of service to the court to prove the petition has been served.