Wind up a limited company that owes you money

After you have served a winding-up petition on a company that owes you money, you must complete forms to:

• provide the High Court with evidence that the petition has been served
• notify specified parties
• advertise the petition in the Belfast Gazette
• certify compliance with the winding-up petition procedures

Providing evidence of service (form 4.04/4.05)

Immediately after service of the petition, the petitioner must file an affidavit at the High Court, verifying the service of the petition (Form 4.04/4.05). For details of what this must show see steps to serve a winding-up petition.

Other people you should notify of a winding-up petition being served

Special arrangements apply if the company to which you have served a winding-up petition is:

• in voluntary liquidation
• in administrative receivership
• subject to an administration order or voluntary arrangement

If you discover that any of these arrangements are in place, you must send a copy of the petition on the next working day after service to the:

• liquidator
• administrative receiver
• administrator
• supervisor

For more information read company liquidation.

Advertising your petition (form 4.06)

Your petition must be advertised in the Belfast Gazette, at least seven working days after it was served and not later than seven working days before the winding-up hearing. The Gazette is monitored by banks and other financial institutions, which are obliged to freeze the accounts of companies listed, in case they worsen creditors' positions by disposing of assets before the hearing.

Find out how to advertise your petition on the Belfast Gazette.

Certificate of compliance (form 4.07)

At least five working days before the hearing, you must file a certificate of compliance with the court . This is a declaration that you have followed all the relevant procedures correctly, and must be accompanied by a copy of the full page of the Belfast Gazette containing the advert for your petition.

List of persons attending hearing

On the day before the winding-up hearing, you will need to send the Court a list of people who intend to appear. You can do this by completing form 4.10 'List of Persons Intending to Appear on the Hearing of the Petition'.

Withdrawing your petition

You can withdraw your petition if the company concerned pays their debt to you, or for another reason. However, once a petition has been issued, the winding-up hearing will still go ahead in the Court.

Contact the Court staff to find out the procedure for withdrawing your petition.