# Tenant company going into voluntary liquidation



## Peter54 (19 Feb 2010)

My sister has been renting a commercial unit for the past couple of years but the business can no longer sustain the rental the landlord is looking for and neither is he interested in discussing same.

The business is going into voluntary   liquidation; stock and vehicles have been possesed by liquidator.  Is the lease also taken by liquidator to sell?


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## jack2009 (19 Feb 2010)

*Re: Voluntary Liquidation*



Peter54 said:


> My sister has been renting a commercial unit for the past couple of years but the business can no longer sustain the rental the landlord is looking for and neither is he interested in discussing same.
> 
> The business is going into voluntary liquidation; stock and vehicles have been possesed by liquidator. Is the lease also taken by liquidator to sell?


 
Yes, but you will probably find a clause in the lease saying that the lease becomes null and void if the company enters liquidation. You will probably find that there is no value in the lease so liquidator will just vacate the premises and return it to the landlord.


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## tomvpowell (2 Mar 2010)

*Re: Voluntary Liquidation*

According to this page: [broken link removed] there are 2 types of voluntary liquidation, do you know which one your sisters landlord if liable for?


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## Wishes (3 Mar 2010)

*Re: Voluntary Liquidation*



jack2009 said:


> You will probably find that there is no value in the lease so liquidator will just vacate the premises and return it to the landlord.



Jack2009, do you know how long this process takes?  How is a lease valued?  Reason I ask, I was going to take on a similar lease until the present tenant went into voluntary liquidation.  I've been advised by my solicitor to keep well clear.


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## mercman (3 Mar 2010)

*Re: Voluntary Liquidation*

If the lease was in a personal name or the the tenant offered and signed a Personal Guarantee then she may not be off the hook.


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## Wishes (12 Mar 2010)

*Re: Voluntary Liquidation*

That's interesting as the bank were on to me like a tone of bricks to take over payments of lease were previous tenant left off.  Maybe I'd been offered a better deal if I'd approached the liquidator direct.


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## Peter54 (24 Mar 2010)

*Re: Voluntary Liquidation*



Peter54 said:


> My sister has been renting a commercial unit for the past couple of years but the business can no longer sustain the rental the landlord is looking for and neither is he interested in discussing same.
> 
> The business is going into voluntary   liquidation; stock and vehicles have been possesed by liquidator.  Is the lease also taken by liquidator to sell?



We have since learned that my sister signed the lease in her own personal name  The landlord is now going after her legally.


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## Liquidator (25 Mar 2010)

*Re: Voluntary Liquidation*

This can be a grey area...there is a difference between having a lease in her name and Personally Guaranteeing a lease.  If she had the lease in her name but was paying for it through the company it can be considered a company liability...this is something she should talk to her liquidator about.


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## jack2009 (25 Mar 2010)

*Re: Voluntary Liquidation*



Peter54 said:


> We have since learned that my sister signed the lease in her own personal name The landlord is now going after her legally.


 
Signed it in her name on behalf of the company or in her own name for herself?


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## Peter54 (25 Mar 2010)

*Re: Voluntary Liquidation*

Liquidator, thankfully she didn't give a personal guarantee.  

Jack2009, apparently in her own name for herself.


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## jack2009 (29 Mar 2010)

*Re: Voluntary Liquidation*



Peter54 said:


> Liquidator, thankfully she didn't give a personal guarantee.
> 
> Jack2009, apparently in her own name for herself.


 
Was there a reason it was taken out in her name rather than the companies also did payments come from her bank account. Any further info that my imply that the lease was on behalf of the company.


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## Peter54 (29 Mar 2010)

*Re: Voluntary Liquidation*

Jack2009, she said the landlord would have it no other way but for her to sign in her own name.  He's suing her for leaving the lease early.

She paid him rent via the company account.


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## Brendan Burgess (29 Mar 2010)

*Re: Voluntary Liquidation*

This is an interesting and important thread. 

I have removed the off topic questions about goods and banks so that we can focus on the core issue. 

Wishes - if you want to ask about other issues, do so in the Askaboutbusiness section in a separate thread.

Brendan


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## Peter54 (29 Mar 2010)

Thanks Brendan.

When she was acquiring the lease the landlord  asked her for a personal gurantee but she refused.  Instead she offered a  lump sum of money that was put into a secure account by the solicitors;  that could not be accessed unless she failed to pay rent or their was  damage to the building etc.  This money she was lead to believe at the time was  enough of a guarantee.

When the liquidator heard  the latest surrounding the lease he didn't  want to know and advised her to speak to her solicitor immediately.


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## Peter54 (23 Apr 2010)

The liquidator has wound up the company and informed my sister that his work is done.  

Her landlords took it their liberty to write to the liquidator; telling him to keep off the lease as it was my sisters’ problem and not a company problem.

The liquidator continued with the process of winding up the company and left the lease aspect of it aside for my sisters’ solicitor to deal with.

The landlords are now looking for her to sub let the lease as they do not want to issue a new lease or go advertising for new tenants because they know they will find it difficult due to the amount of vacant premises that are in the area and also the problem of the rent being so high.

Is sub-letting a gray area?


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