Companies in administration, UK — live monitor and the plain-English playbook

A UK company is 'in administration' when a licensed insolvency practitioner has been appointed as its administrator under Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986. From that moment the administrator, not the directors, runs the company. A statutory moratorium blocks most creditor action, and the administrator must pursue one of three purposes in order: rescue the company as a going concern, achieve a better result for creditors than liquidation, or realise property to pay a secured or preferential creditor.

No. Administration is a rescue and realisation process — the company keeps trading while the administrator finds a buyer, restructure or better recovery. Liquidation is a winding-up: the company stops trading, assets are sold, and the entity is dissolved. Many administrations do end in liquidation, but the two are separate legal processes with different powers, timelines and outcomes.

The Insolvency Service publishes monthly official statistics. In recent years administrations have averaged 1,600–2,000 per year, with quarterly peaks tied to interest-rate cycles, energy costs and end-of-year lender reviews. Our live monitor above pulls every fresh notice from The Gazette so you can see the current run-rate for the last 7, 30 and 365 days.

One year by default, extendable by up to a year with creditor consent or indefinitely by court order. Most administrations end sooner — a sale of the business, a CVA or a move into liquidation typically completes within 3–9 months. The administrator files progress reports every six months.

Employees keep their contracts on day one — the moratorium protects them. Within 14 days the administrator must decide whom to keep. Retained staff transfer under TUPE if the business is sold; dismissed staff can claim statutory redundancy, notice pay, holiday pay and up to 8 weeks' arrears from the Redundancy Payments Service, capped at the current statutory weekly amount.

Yes — and it is one of the fastest ways to acquire trading assets in the UK. Offers go to the administrator, who owes a duty to creditors to accept the best realistic bid. Deals typically complete in 2–8 weeks, often as asset sales, sometimes as pre-packs where the buyer is lined up before the appointment. See our buyer's gateway for the full playbook.

A pre-pack is a sale of the business and assets negotiated before the administrator is appointed and completed immediately on their appointment. It preserves jobs and goodwill but is controversial because unsecured creditors have no say. Since 2021, connected-party pre-packs must be reviewed by an independent evaluator and the administrator must issue a SIP 16 statement to creditors within seven days.

First. Fixed-charge holders (usually banks) are paid from the specific asset. Then administrator expenses, then preferential creditors (employees, HMRC for VAT/PAYE/NIC since December 2020), then the prescribed part for unsecured creditors (up to £800,000), then floating-charge holders, then remaining unsecured creditors, and shareholders last. The order is set by the Insolvency Act 1986 and the Finance Act 2020.

No. On appointment, the administrator takes over all management powers. Directors remain in office but cannot make decisions or bind the company. They must cooperate, hand over records, and answer the administrator's questions. Continuing to trade or dispose of assets without the administrator's consent risks personal liability and disqualification.

Two authoritative sources: The Gazette (statutory notices published within days of appointment) and Companies House (filings under charge codes 700/720 and the 'insolvency history' tab). Our monitor consolidates both, updated hourly, and lets you save a free daily email digest by company name, sector, region or SIC code.

A standalone 20-business-day moratorium that a solvent-but-struggling company can obtain without entering an insolvency process. It halts most creditor enforcement, must be monitored by a licensed insolvency practitioner, and can be extended for another 20 days by directors, or longer with creditor or court consent. It is distinct from the automatic moratorium inside administration.

Usually yes, in part. Unsecured customer deposits sit near the bottom of the waterfall. Card payments made in the last 120 days may be recoverable via a chargeback with your bank. Purchases over £100 paid partly by credit card are protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Everything else becomes an unsecured claim in the administration.