Provisional liquidator

What is a provisional liquidator?

A provisional liquidator is either the official receiver or a licensed insolvency practitioner (IP) who is appointed under section 135 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) in respect of a company which is subject to a winding-up petition before the company is wound up by the court, or the winding-up petition has been heard or dealt with.

IA 1986, s 135 is supplemented by the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024, rr 7.33–7.39.

Why are provisional liquidators appointed?

The main reason why a provisional liquidator is appointed is because urgent steps are required to take control of the company and secure its assets due to the risk that the company's creditors will otherwise suffer loss. The appointment of a provisional liquidator is therefore necessary to preserve the company's assets until the company is wound up by the court

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