C. Brown & Sons (Steel) Limited

If C. Brown & Sons (Steel) Limited owes you money

1. Work out exactly what you are owed

   Total every unpaid invoice, including VAT, for goods or services supplied before 7 October 2026. Keep copies of the invoices, delivery notes, your terms and any statements.

2. Send your claim to the liquidators

   Claims are made on a proof of debt form, which the liquidators can send you. No last date for claims has been set in a notice yet; one is set before any dividend is paid. Debts of £1,000 or less can be accepted from the company's own records without a formal proof, but sending one is the safe course.

3. Goods supplied on retention of title

   If your terms say you own goods until they are paid for and they are still on the company's premises, write to the liquidators straight away with your terms and a list of the goods, so they can be identified before anything is sold.

4. Tell the liquidator what you know

   The liquidator looks into why the company failed and how it was run, and reports on the directors' conduct to the Insolvency Service, as the law requires in every liquidation. Information from suppliers about the company's last months of trading can help.

5. Watch for reports and a dividend notice

   The liquidator reports to creditors each year, the first report covering the year to 7 October 2027. If there is money for unsecured creditors, a notice of intended dividend appears in The Gazette with a last date for claims.

6. Recover the VAT

   You can usually claim VAT bad debt relief from HMRC once the debt is more than six months overdue and you have written it off in your VAT records (VAT Notice 700/18). If you have credit insurance, tell your insurer now; most policies set a deadline for reporting a customer's insolvency.

What creditors' voluntary liquidation means for a supplier

General information about the procedure, not advice on this case. The creditor's guide explains each procedure in more detail.

Money back for unsecured creditors

The liquidator's reports and final account state what unsecured creditors receive. We read the final account when it is filed at Companies House.

A figure appears only when the document states it, in pence in the pound, as a percentage dividend, or as a statement that unsecured creditors will receive or received nothing. We never work one out from the totals. An estimate in administrators' proposals or a progress report can change as assets are sold and claims are agreed. A liquidator's final account states what was actually paid. The money-back tracker brings these figures together.

Directors' other formal insolvencies

Other companies where the same person has been a director or LLP member and which have entered administration, creditors' voluntary liquidation or compulsory liquidation. People are matched by their Companies House officer record, never by name. Members' voluntary liquidations, strike-offs and dissolutions are not listed. Companies become insolvent for many reasons, and having been an officer of one that did is not in itself a finding against anyone.

Notices and dates

Sources: The Gazette (Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0) and Companies House (Open Government Licence v3.0). Facts are as published in the notices and filings.