Realistic chance to recover unpaid money if debtor is limited company "in liquidation"?

There is a company which has not paid its debts to us since last year.

We were just going to initiate a case in the Small Claims Court. However, I have noticed that their status is showing as "in liquidation" at Companies House (via a Duedil.com search), with the details as below at the end of this post.

In my experience the Small Claims process is a slow and unwieldy one if the defendant is not co-operative (e.g. pretending they didn't get the court letter, not turning up to the hearing etc.), and can take several months to get headway with, and by then this company will probably be long since liquidated.

Is it worth pursuing a case with the debtor, or is there no chance we'll get our money if they are liquidated? If a company is liquidated, is there any way of getting unpaid debts from their Directors etc.?

Thank you in advance for the advice.


13 Aug 2012Application For Liquidator Creditors Notice In Gazette13 Aug 2012Statement of Affairs In Regards To Insolvency13 Aug 2012Creditors Resolution To Liquidate
13 Aug 2012Appointment of Liquidator09 Aug 2012Appointment of Liquidator09 Aug 2012Change In Registered Office Address
04 Jul 2012Meeting of Creditors Notice In Gazette

Thank you. That's very useful David.

I don't think this company will have assets. (It's your typical scenario in this country, with the owners having other businesses but closing down this one to avoid paying their debts.)

Nonetheless, I would like to pursue my payments. How do I find out the liquidators contact details please?

Thanks again.

They should contact creditors, provided they are listed as such.

Depending on the paperwork (or lack thereof) your company may not be listed as a creditor. In this instance use the webcheck facility and look for a change in the registered office as this is generally changed to the address of the Insolvency Practitioner.

It will be worth lodging your claim, but realistically the chances of recovering any funds from a liquidated company is negligible.