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How do you find local businesses going out of business and liquidating inventory?

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Leading UK
How do you find local businesses going out of business and liquidating inventory?

I’m sure many of us have been in the situation of having a company that owes us money but being unable to contact them. They don’t answer emails, telephone calls are ignored, rumours fly around about the business struggling. In these circumstances, questions arise. Are they still trading? Has the business closed? Are they in liquidation? So just how do you find companies that are going out of business?

An online search

There are a wide range of online sources available that will advise if a company that owes you money is going out of business, or has already been wound up. The UK government has an online checker where you search their records. All you need is either the company name or its registration number.

This website is also the place to search if a sole trader or partnership company is in ‘provisional liquidation.’ This is when compulsory liquidation has been forced upon the company. The court has frozen the company’s assets and bank accounts prior to a hearing to determine if the company should be liquidated.

The best source to check this status is on the Government’s website which will list companies that have received a winding up petition. The Government also has an updated list of companies that are under bankruptcy restrictions, i.e. the sole trader, individuals or partners have broken a Debt Relief Order or bankruptcy terms.

Most debt management companies offer a credit check, insolvency test or free online search to determine if a company is still trading or has gone out of business.

As all limited companies, including limited liability partnerships, are registered with Companies House, carrying out an online search on the Companies House website will reveal basic details about the company, such as its current trading status and any insolvency history including the administrator details. However, because it takes time to process the latest information, their website may not always be completely up to date.

Companies that enter into liquidation, administration or receivership are announced in The Gazette, which is done by the appointed insolvency practitioner/liquidator. As these announcements must be put into The Gazette within seven days of the creditors/directors meeting and notices of appointment being issued, The Gazette is probably the most up-to-date source.

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