There may be occasions when the directors or shareholders of a company take the decision to close it down in a process called company closure, also sometimes referred to as winding the company up or striking it off from the Companies House register.

There could be various reasons for this decision, for a newly incorporated company, perhaps it was not the right time to begin trading or, for an established company, maybe the directors now wish to retire or refocus their efforts elsewhere or it might be the time to finally close a dormant company down.

Whatever the reason, company closure can be a rather lengthy process and one that 121 Company formation can help you with by offering their closure of your company service. The first step is to request Companies House for an application to strike the company of its register but before we can do this we will require confirmation from you that certain statutory requirements have been met.

What statutory requirements must be met before a company can be closed?

Before we proceed with your company closure, you must be able to confirm that:

•   In the previous three months, the company has made no incoming or outgoing financial transactions, i.e. it has made no payments nor received any income
•   The existing stock, goods, assets or IPR held by the company have not been sold immediately prior to the application to close the company being made
•   You have not made an application to change the company’s name
•   The company is not involved in, and has not been threatened with, an insolvency or liquidation process including having reached agreement with its creditors under a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA)

What happens next?

When you have confirmed that all the above statutory requirements have been met and agreement has been reached to close the company by the majority of the directors then we will complete the appropriate CS01 form as supplied by Companies House and submit this once it has been signed by one of the directors of your company.

The process to strike the company off the Companies House register will then begin.

If your company is VAT registered then you will be required to file a final VAT return

If your company undertook any financial transactions prior to the last three months of trading then you will be required to file a final set of accounts as well as the appropriate tax return

How can I order the closure of your company's service and how much does this cost?

You can order this service directly from our website or, if you would prefer to seek further advice, please email us at [email protected]

The one-off cost of the company closure service is £49.99.