Recovering assets of a dissolved company

Introduction

Guide

When a company is dissolved, by law, its assets - but not its liabilities - pass to the control of the Crown.

The Crown Solicitor for Northern Ireland, as the nominee of the Treasury Solicitor (the Crown's nominee), represents the Crown in dealing with the collection of assets from dissolved companies in Northern Ireland. These assets are known as 'bona vacantia', which means ownerless property. The Crown Solicitor has the right to sell such properties.

However, if you owned a company that was dissolved, you could potentially recover assets from it that have become bona vacantia.

This guide explains what bona vacantia is and what happens to company assets when a company is dissolved. It also covers the Crown Solicitor's role in the process and how to contact the Crown Solicitor for Northern Ireland.