Your Questions Answered by TaxAssist Accountants

My company is being struck off, what should I do?

I have a limited company and have received notice from Companies House that it is proposing to strike off my company.

Answer

When Companies House takes steps to remove a company from the company register, this is called being struck off. Limited companies can be struck off for several reasons: 

• the company is not operating, signs include:
  • your accounts are overdue 
  • your confirmation statement is overdue 
• communication that the registrar has sent to a company’s registered office is returned undelivered, this could be that the company has an invalid registered office address 
• the company has no directors 
• failure to provide a notice of new registered office address within 28 days 

Following indication of the above, the following steps will occur: 

• the registrar will communicate with the company to inquire whether it’s still carrying on business or in operation
• if they are satisfied that it is not, they will publish a notice in The Gazette stating their intention to strike the company off the register unless they are shown reason not to do so
• they will strike off the company not less than 2 months after the date of the notice, if there is no reason to do otherwise
• the company will be dissolved on publication of a further notice stating this in the The Gazette 

What can you do? 

If you do not want your company struck off, you can object to a limited company being struck off the company register, after notice that the company is going to be struck off has been published in The Gazette, if: 

• you are a shareholder or interested party, such as a creditor 
• you have a reason to stop the company being removed from the register, for example they owe you money 

It is important you reply promptly to any formal inquiry from the registrar and deliver any outstanding documents. Our experts in company accounting and secretarial can ensure your documents are prepared and filed with Companies House as soon as possible. 

I want to close my company 

If you are no longer trading and want to shut down your company, you should seek professional advice. Our accountants can look at all your options when it comes to closing down your company. 

Information supplied by Cheryl Hopkins, Chartered Certified Accountant, TaxAssist Accountants. Advice shared in this article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayers’ circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take, action, as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.