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A strict timetable begins. The petition must be advertised in The Gazette not less than seven business days after service and not less than seven business days before the hearing; a certificate of compliance is filed at court no later than five business days before the hearing; and the hearing itself typically follows some six or more weeks after presentation. Banks generally freeze the company’s accounts once the advertisement appears.
Advertisement in The Gazette is what makes the petition public: other creditors may give notice of support and the company’s bank, monitoring the Gazette, will usually freeze accounts because dispositions of company property after presentation are void under section 127 of the Insolvency Act 1986 unless validated by the court. Timing errors here are serious: advertising early, before valid service or inside the seven business day window, can lead to the advertisement being restrained and costs awarded against the petitioner.
Service must be verified by a certificate of service compliant with Schedule 4, filed at court, and the petitioner must also file a certificate of compliance confirming the advertisement requirements were met no later than five business days before the hearing. Copies of the petition must be delivered promptly to any office holder and, for regulated firms, to the FCA or PRA where they are entitled to be heard. At the hearing the company may pay, seek an adjournment, or oppose; if nothing effective is raised, the winding up order is made and the Official Receiver takes office.
Every deadline above is calculated from the date of service, so the served date must be certain and provable on day one. Our petition service includes same day scanned certificates to the instructing solicitors so the advertisement can be booked with confidence, and our servers’ records answer any later challenge to how service was effected.
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This page provides general information about the law and practice in England and Wales and is not legal advice. Rules change and individual circumstances vary; always take advice from a solicitor on your specific situation. Prices shown are indicative, exclusive of VAT and confirmed in writing before any work begins.