Who Is Nigel Powell?
Nigel Powell is a seasoned professional in the field of insolvency, with a strong focus on Statutory Demand, Winding Up Petitions, Liquidation Bankruptcy and Business Rescue. Nigel’s career spans over 15 years, during which he has helped countless businesses and individuals navigate complex financial difficulties.
What sets Nigel apart is his “Ask Nigel” service—a direct line of communication allowing anyone to seek advice anytime, ensuring swift and straightforward guidance without unnecessary legal jargon.
Ask Nigel Now:
📞 07977 923 298
PRE-WINDING UP PETITION
If you (sole trader) or your Limited Company are owed money from a Limited Company and that debt is not disputed (more than £750 is not disputed), you have these choices:
- Send a county court claim form (this can be expensive if a large debt, as the court charges up to 5% of the debt amount to file a claim form, but if the debt is disputed, then this would be the safest route). It also can take many months in this slow court process only to be awarded a Judgment Order against the Company (that you can enforce the Judgment as below).
- Send a Statutory Demand under Section 123(1)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1986. This gives the company 21 days’ notice that unless the company offers security or pays the debt, you the Creditor may present a Winding up Petition. (A statutory demand is best if there is a possible dispute to this debt, and it gives the company plenty of time to submit their defence or to make an application to the court for an Injunction restraining the Creditor from presenting a Winding up Petition or from Advertising the Petition.)
- Send a 3 or 7 day Formal Notice letter under Section 122(1)(f) of the Insolvency Act 1986. (Use this method if you have obtained a Judgment Order or the Debt is not disputed.)
Winding up Petition Application (Disbursements)
If any of the above methods of collection have failed to obtain payment, then your next option would be a Winding up Petition.
The High Court costs have doubled in the past few years as below: (application must be CE-Filed through the High Court online system)
- Court Fee £332 (paid on application)
- Official Receiver’s Deposit £2,600 (paid when application accepted)
- Process server’s fee £145 (average) to serve on the company’s registered address. (You will receive a sealed/signed copy of the Petition uploaded on to the CE-Filing portal for you to download for serving.)
- London Gazette advert £142.80 (inc VAT), must be advertised a minimum of 7 business days prior to the hearing date.
- You must attend the hearing in person or instruct legal help as below.
All the above is only if you intend to do the process yourself and not instruct a firm of solicitors at an additional cost of about £3,500 and Barrister £1,200 to save money. (Good Luck with that!)
As you can see the cost of just the Application and hearing could cost you over £7,000 and this can be as much as the debt amount, can you get this money back! Well yes if the Company decide to make payment of the debt in full and pay all your costs prior to the hearing to prevent you from advertising in the Gazette, or if the company was wound up and after the Official Receiver or an appointed Insolvency practitioner has collected in the assets of the debtor company and has paid out any money that is a priority to your debt, and their fees possibly could get your debt back.
Over the past few years I have seen a drop off of companies willing to risk the costs of winding up a company as they are ultimately only funding the process without any promise of financial reward at the end.
How can I help you
We have a service that could be of great help to you not only doing the full process but potentially funding it with no financial risk for you.
I can assist in recovering undisputed debts by using winding up petitions and do this on a no risk basis for you and cover the costs of doing so. I can also help you if you are an alleged debtor and somebody has issued a Petition against you or embarked upon the pre-petition process as per our pre-winding up petition section (apart from when county court proceedings have been issued). Have a look at the tabs below and see what I can do for you.
We are a member of Red Flag Alert
(Insolvency Credit Referencing). We supply you with an up-to-date credit report on the company you are looking to wind up and it will show an in-depth and detailed financial view of the company. For a fee of £150.00, we can obtain for you the full report or we can use the report to assess the viability of funding the process.
Red Flag Alert report helps us to determine the risk structure and funding structure.
No Red Flag Alert We could fund the whole process with a % fee (see How it Works)
One Red Flag Alert We can part help with funding with a % fee (see How it Works)
Two Red Flag Alert We would not fund but would still help you with the process for a fee.
Three Red Flag Alert We would not recommend proceeding with a Petition.
“We cover everything you need to know about the legal process. You can contact me anytime by phone or email with questions related to Winding Up Petitions. Call Nigel now at: 07977 923 298, available 8am-9pm, 7 days a week.”