What you need to know

• Liquidation is a roller coaster ride, the journey will have both highs and lows.  You will be pleasantly surprised from where you get support – some of your biggest creditors will say nice things about you.  Equally, some of who you thought were your most staunch supporters will disappoint you;
• Liquidation doesn’t prevent you from setting up in business again because responsible entrepreneurs are encouraged to give it another go – indeed many of today’s most successful businessmen weren’t successful first or second time around!  However, setting up a phoenix operation is not as easy as some suggest, as banks, customers and suppliers may not be as supportive as you’d like;
• The rules over re-using any ‘name’ used by the liquidated company are horrendously complicated.  If you breach those rules, there are severe penalties including personal liability for the debts of the new company should it fail.  You’ll probably need to take independent legal advice;
• This link will take you to a summary of the steps in a typical creditors voluntary liquidation.