There is provision in UK law for an insolvent company to be placed “in administration“. Various authorities may appoint an administrator, principally including:
* the courts (on application from a creditor, directors or partners)
* the holder of a qualifying floating charge over the assets of the business
* the company itself
* the directors of the company concerned
* a creditor
The task of the administrator is to manage the business so that the creditors can minimise the scale of their losses. Ideally, the administrator will sell the business as a going concern, securing the best price. It is quite probable that he or she will sell any realisable assets separately: the whole may be worth less than the sum of the parts
