Dissolve a Limited Company

Dissolving a limited company in the UK, known as a voluntary company strike-off or winding up, is a cost-effective and straightforward way to close companies that are no longer trading.

If your company is effectively dormant and has served its purpose, then voluntarily striking it off the Companies House register is an attractive option for closure.

We have years of experience dealing with company dissolution, so you can be confident in leaving the process in our hands.

You don’t have to learn how to dissolve a company and avoid all the worry of dealing with Companies House or complex procedures.

Our limited company dissolution process is stress-free.

We will:

• Change your business address from the outset and deal with all creditor correspondence.
• Complete the necessary forms on your behalf and notify HMRC.
• Keep you fully informed throughout until we reach dissolution.

We have a straightforward, proven, six-step process for striking your company off that we can discuss with you. You’ll be kept fully informed and can contact the Future Strategy team every step of the way.

We also guarantee to strike off your limited company for a fixed fee. Simply contact us for a quote to find out more.

Why dissolve a limited company?

Companies that are no longer active and unlikely to be required in the future are usually best dealt with through a dissolution.

You may be preparing to retire, want to free up assets from an existing company to fund a new venture, or want to close a subsidiary company that no longer has a practical function.

Or it simply might be the business may not be working out as you’d hoped. For example, maybe it’s not as profitable as you had planned, or your fellow directors might not share your vision for the future.

It may be that your limited company has never traded – perhaps you started your business, and restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020/2021 meant you could not trade.

We can close your company through dissolution and strike you off the Companies House register if:

• The company hasn’t traded in three months or sold any stock.
• Hasn’t changed names in three months.
• It isn’t threatened with liquidation and has no agreements in place with creditors.

Advantages of dissolving a limited company

• It is the quickest method of closing a company. Once a company is dormant, then the process of strike-off is not time-consuming.
• The process is much cheaper than liquidation.
• There’s no investigation into the director’s conduct. That means there’s no risk of directors being made personally liable for business debts or being disqualified from acting as directors in the future. This will only be the case if the creditor restores the companyor and a winding-up petition is issued.
• No requirement to file annual returns and accounts. If the company is simply left dormant, accounts and returns will still need to be filed.

There are disadvantages to consider, and we can talk you through these so you can decide the best option for your business.

They include the possibility of creditors objecting to the application, the fact that outstanding debts cannot be written off, and there is no prescribed process for distributing assets to creditors.

Voluntary strike-offs are the standard and most efficient method business owners usually use when closing a company.

However, they still tend to be complex affairs that require expert knowledge to navigate. At Future Strategy, we can supply that knowledge and reassurance.

How dissolving a company in the UK works

The process of dissolving your company begins with paying off any creditors if you have available funds, disposing of assets, and closing the business bank account.

HMRC must be informed and a DS01 form submitted to Companies House. Anyone who could be affected within seven days should be notified, including members, creditors still to be paid, employees, pension fund managers, and/or trustees.

If no objection is received in 90 days, the company is dissolved.

The process of dissolving a limited company broadly follows these steps:

• First, a board meeting is held to pass a resolution in writing to apply to close the company.
• Then directors sign the application.
• Next, all employees and creditors must be notified of the application.
• Finally, an application is then made using a DS01 form.

Our six-step process for dissolving a company

Future Strategy has spent years refining the process of dissolving limited companies so the experience is as stress-free as possible for our clients.

We believe in transparent communication at all times and will keep you updated throughout the process.

Our team are easily accessible and will take you through these six steps:

1. Agreement and identification.
   You can trust us 100% with the closure of your business. Future Strategy Limited is fully authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). So all we need to get started is for you to digitally sign our agreement, make a payment and send us some identification.
2. Change your business address.
   For your peace of mind, and where suitable, we change your business’s registered address to Future Strategy’s registered address. This removes the pressure, and you won’t have to worry about receiving stressful letters from creditors. Any post you do receive can be sent to us.
3. File a Statement of Affairs (SoA).
   This is a critically important document within the dissolution process. It summarises all of your company’s assets and liabilities for the current situation. This must be done accurately to ensure your company is closed successfully. Our experienced team will compile the SoA on your behalf.
4. Notify creditors and HMRC.
   You are legally obliged to let all creditors and HMRC know that you intend to cease trading. This can be a time-consuming, potentially awkward, and complicated process, so we compose and send these letters on your behalf. We also submit an application to close your company (DS01) to Companies House.
5. Deal with all creditor correspondence.
   Dealing with creditors can be both stressful and worrying. We take the stress away and ensure that all creditor queries are handled most appropriately throughout the process. As a result, we have a 100% success rate in closing limited companies.
6. Your company is successfully dissolved.
   Following our application, your company will be dissolved and removed from the Companies House register.

Each step is communicated clearly by our in-house case management team, with the goal of reaching dissolution within 90 days.

If you’d like to learn more about our process of dissolving a company, you can get in touch with the Future Strategy team for a free and confidential consultation.

Our company dissolution checklist

As we work through the company dissolution process, we make our way through a checklist with you to ensure we can reach dissolution quickly and effectively. These points include:

• Paying staff their final wage or making them redundant. Be sure to take advice on the rules here, particularly with redundancy.
• Complete all outstanding work and collect any fees due.
• Sell any company assets, distributing proceeds among shareholders.
• Bring all utilities to an end.
• Transfer website domains.
• Prepare final company accounts and tax returns and send them to HMRC and Companies House, informing them that you wish to close the company in a letter signed by directors.
• Pay HMRC any tax due. For example, VAT, Corporation Tax, PAYE, and NI.
• Ask HMRC to close your payroll.
• Deregister for VAT.
• Close company bank accounts.
• There may be other obligations you have to meet when closing a company, depending on the type of business you operate. These are best discussed with experts such as ourselves.

This attention to detail means you can avoid learning how to dissolve a company yourself and trust us to get the job done for you.