Corporate groups and company owners wishing to reduce costs and administration by tidying-up corporate structures should know that the DS01 strike off procedure is currently suspended by Companies House to protect creditors.
These changes do not apply to companies being dissolved under a voluntary liquidation procedure, and so this route forward remains open and viable for corporate restructurings.
Moreover, it is worth remembering that whilst the DS01 route is often thought to be the easiest and cheapest way of removing an unwanted or dormant subsidiary, it is not always the best or most appropriate option. This is because in relation to a company struck off using a DS01, there is always the possibility of an application subsequently being made by a third party for the company to be restored to the register, thereby bringing the company back into existence and giving rise to issues/complications down the line. Directors and company advisers should therefore always consider using a Members Voluntary Liquidation procedure which, whilst involving a bit more cost and process, is a complete and permanent solution.
Applications for voluntary strike off (DS01) When we’ve registered your application to strike off the company, we’ll publish a notice in the Gazette as we would normally do. This is to tell the public that the company is applying to be struck off the register. However, we’ll suspend any further action to strike off and dissolve the company. This is to protect creditors and any other interested parties who may wish to object to the company being struck off. This is a temporary measure. We’ll review the impact of coronavirus from 1 May 2020 and publish a guidance update on our website.
unknownx500
