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Once a liquidator is appointed, the directors no longer control the company or anything it owns. The liquidator takes control, sells the assets and pays creditors in the order the law sets, and directors must hand over assets, records and paperwork. In administration the administrator takes control instead, and the business may keep trading or be sold as a going concern. A director can buy company assets, but connected-person rules apply, so take advice first.
Who controls the company's equipment and vehicles once a liquidator is appointed?
The liquidator does, from the moment of appointment. GOV.UK guidance says directors then no longer have control of the company or anything it owns, and cannot act for or on its behalf. Directors must hand over the company's assets, records and paperwork, give the liquidator any information asked for, and attend an interview if requested. Decisions about selling machinery or vehicles become the liquidator's.
A company-owned van at a director's house, or a company telehandler lent to a customer, is now under the liquidator's control. In a creditors' voluntary liquidation the liquidator acts in the interest of the creditors, not the directors, and reports on what went wrong; a director whose conduct is found unfit can be banned for 2 to 15 years or prosecuted.
- Machinery and plant on site. What the director should do: Leave it in place and list it, with location and serial numbers. Who decides what happens next: The liquidator.
- Vans and trucks in daily use. What the director should do: Stop using them unless the liquidator agrees, and report where each one is. Who decides what happens next: The liquidator.
- Keys, logbooks, manuals, service records. What the director should do: Hand them over with the assets they belong to. Who decides what happens next: The liquidator.
- Equipment on hire purchase or lease. What the director should do: Identify it and pass on the finance agreement details. Who decides what happens next: The liquidator and the finance company, under the agreement.
- Assets the director would like to buy. What the director should do: Say so to the liquidator and take independent advice. Who decides what happens next: The liquidator, on the terms the rules allow.
Where the liquidator sells through our liquidation and insolvency auctions, the instruction comes from the liquidator, not the director. Universal Auctions Group Ltd acts solely as auctioneer and agent for the seller and is not a party to the contract of sale, which is formed between the seller and the successful bidder. Our auctions are trade-only, so bidders register and bid in a business capacity.
What happens to equipment and vehicles on hire purchase, lease or finance?
They are dealt with under the finance agreement, between the office-holder and the finance company, and are only sold with everything else where the finance company agrees. In administration the law adds protection: no step may be taken to repossess goods in the company's possession under a hire-purchase agreement without the administrator's consent or the court's permission, and for this purpose hire purchase includes conditional sale, chattel leasing and retention of title agreements.
For the director, the job is disclosure. Financed kit looks identical to owned kit, so tell the office-holder item by item what is owned, financed, leased or claimed by a supplier, with agreement numbers. A director who personally guaranteed a finance agreement should take separate advice.
The office-holder's side of this title work, and how it shapes what can go into a sale, is covered in the seller's process in administration and receivership.
What should a director do with company vehicles still in daily use?
Stop treating them as yours to use. After the appointment a company van or truck is under the office-holder's control, so park it where the office-holder asks, hand over the keys, logbook and any fuel cards, and report the mileage and location. If the office-holder agrees to a vehicle staying in use, get that agreement in writing and confirm the insurance position before anyone drives it.
Vehicles move, so they need accounting for before the appointment where possible:
- Location. Where each vehicle is parked tonight, and who holds the keys.
- Paperwork. Logbooks, service history, test certificates and any tachograph records, kept with the vehicle they belong to.
- Finance status. Owned, on hire purchase, or on contract hire from a leasing company.
- Personal items. Tools and belongings in cabs, identified so they are returned rather than sold.
Can a director sell company assets before the liquidation starts?
Only with care and advice. Under the Insolvency Act 1986, a liquidator or administrator can ask the court to reverse a transaction at an undervalue: a gift, or a sale for significantly less than the asset was worth. The look-back period is two years ending with the onset of insolvency, and where the buyer is a connected person, the company is presumed to have been unable to pay its debts at the time unless shown otherwise.
The test applies only where the company could not pay its debts at the time, or could not as a result, and there is a defence for transactions made in good faith to carry on the business with reasonable grounds to believe they would benefit it. Those are judgements for a licensed insolvency practitioner or solicitor, made before the sale. A van sold cheaply to a director's relative is the obvious example.
A solvent business disposing of surplus equipment is in a different position, set out in business liquidators vs auctioneers.
Can a director buy the company's equipment from the office-holder?
Yes, it is not prohibited, but a director is a connected person and the sale is scrutinised. Where a substantial disposal in the first eight weeks of an administration is to a connected person, creditor-approval or evaluator-report requirements may still apply, and an open auction does not remove them. Tell the office-holder early which assets you want, and take independent advice.
For the administration disposal rules, connected person is a defined term: a director or other officer, a shadow director, non-employee associates of those people, and a connected company, which includes a new company run by the same directors. In liquidation, the Insolvency Act's wider associate test applies. A disposal made through a series of transactions is also caught.
- Say so early. Tell the office-holder which assets you want before the sale is planned.
- Expect the price to be tested. An independent professional valuation can be arranged where a figure is needed for the file.
- Check the name. Directors of a company in compulsory or creditors' voluntary liquidation face a five year restriction on using the same or a similar name, with limited exceptions.
- Ask about bidding. Where the office-holder sends assets to open auction, whether a director may bid, and on what terms, is a question for the office-holder.
How sale results evidence value is covered in forced-sale value vs market value.
How does administration differ from liquidation for the company's assets?
In administration the company is not necessarily closing. Control of the company and its assets passes to the administrator, who runs the business and may agree a company voluntary arrangement, sell the business as a going concern, or sell the assets and move to liquidation. Machinery and vehicles may therefore keep working, under the administrator's control, while that decision is made.
The same drivers may be out in the same vans next morning, on the administrator's authority rather than the board's, and while the administration lasts the company generally cannot be wound up, with limited exceptions.
- Who controls the assets. Liquidation: The liquidator, from appointment. Administration: The administrator, from appointment.
- Does the business keep trading. Liquidation: Normally not; the company stops trading. Administration: It may, while the administrator decides the outcome.
- Likely outcome for the assets. Liquidation: Sold and the money paid to creditors. Administration: Kept in use, sold with the business, or sold off.
- Sale to a director. Liquidation: Possible, with the price scrutinised. Administration: Creditor-approval or evaluator-report requirements may apply to a substantial disposal in the first eight weeks.
- Fixed time markers. Liquidation: None set by the GOV.UK guidance. Administration: Proposals within 8 weeks; appointment ends after a year unless extended.
In what order is the money from the assets paid out?
In a set order. Out of assets not subject to a fixed charge, the expenses of the winding up come first, then preferential debts, then a prescribed part set aside for unsecured creditors where the rules require it, then the holder of any floating charge, then unsecured creditors. Shareholders receive only what is left after the debts are paid.
Preferential debts come in two ranks: ordinary, which include certain employee pay, accrued holiday pay and pension contributions, then secondary, which include certain HMRC debts such as VAT. Within each rank, debts share equally if money runs short.
In this illustration the unsecured trade creditors receive only the prescribed part, which is why the price each asset makes matters to people other than the bank.
How long does it take, and what sets the pace of the asset sale?
It varies, and the office-holder sets the timetable. GOV.UK sets no fixed duration for a liquidation. In administration the administrator has eight weeks to write the statement of proposals, and the appointment ends automatically after a year unless it is extended. The speed of the asset sale itself depends mostly on how quickly accurate asset information and title answers come together.
A director usually knows what exists, where it is and who owns it better than any register, so can shorten the slowest part:
- Take advice from a licensed insolvency practitioner as soon as the company cannot pay its debts as they fall due.
- List every asset with its location, serial or registration number and finance status.
- Gather keys, logbooks, manuals and service records and keep them with the assets.
- Hand everything over on appointment and answer the office-holder's questions promptly.
- If you want to buy anything, tell the office-holder early and take your own advice.
When an office-holder instructs us, the assets stay where they stand until sold and paid for, and listings are built from the details and photographs supplied. Bidding normally remains open for several days, with the exact opening and closing times stated for each auction. The seller pays no selling fees and receives 100% of the hammer price together with any applicable VAT, and we handle invoicing and provide the seller with the sale and settlement documentation.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Tidying up the yard before the appointment. Selling or giving away equipment cheaply can be challenged as a transaction at an undervalue. Take advice before anything leaves.
- Carrying on using a company van. After the appointment it is under the office-holder's control. Use it only with written agreement and confirmed insurance.
- Leaving finance items off the list. Undisclosed hire purchase, lease and retention of title items cause withdrawals and disputes later.
- Buying assets on a handshake. A director is a connected person. Raise it with the office-holder, expect the price to be tested and check the company name restrictions.
- Treating an open sale as a shield. An auction evidences what the market paid; it does not remove connected-person requirements.
About this guide, and where to check the terms
Last reviewed 25 October 2026. This guide is general information for directors, owners and their advisers and is not legal, tax or financial advice, and every worked example in it is illustrative rather than typical or achievable. What happens to a company's assets turns on its own facts, its charges and the procedure it enters, so take advice from a licensed insolvency practitioner or a solicitor where the position matters. The terms of the individual sale govern each lot.
- Auction terms and conditions. Seller obligations, reserves and provisional bids, payment, collection, storage and export: universalauctionsgroup.com/terms-and-conditions.
- Insolvency and asset disposal. How we work with office-holders and businesses: asset disposal.
- Selling with us. What a seller receives and why there are no selling fees: why sell with UAG.
- Buyer fees. The buyer's premium and any other charges for a lot are stated on that lot's Additional Fees tab.
Frequently asked questions
Can a director keep using a company van after liquidation?
Not as of right. Once a liquidator is appointed, directors no longer control the company or anything it owns, and must hand over its assets, records and paperwork. A company van in daily use is under the liquidator's control from that point. If the liquidator agrees to a vehicle staying in use for a period, get that agreement in writing and confirm the insurance position before anyone drives it.
How long does liquidation take?
It varies with the company, and the liquidator sets the timetable. GOV.UK guidance does not give a fixed duration for a liquidation. In administration there are fixed markers: the administrator has eight weeks to write a statement of proposals, and the appointment ends automatically after a year unless extended. For the asset sale, the pace depends mostly on how quickly accurate asset details and ownership answers come together.
Can I sell company assets before the company goes into liquidation?
Take advice from a licensed insolvency practitioner first. A liquidator or administrator can ask the court to reverse a transaction at an undervalue, such as a gift or a sale for significantly less than the asset was worth, made in the two years ending with the onset of insolvency while the company could not pay its debts, or that left it unable to pay them. Where the buyer is a connected person, the company is presumed to have been unable to pay its debts at the time unless shown otherwise.
Can a director buy assets from a liquidator or administrator?
Yes, but a director is a connected person, so the sale is scrutinised. In administration, where all or a substantial part of the business or assets is disposed of to a connected person in the first eight weeks, creditor approval or a qualifying report from an independent evaluator may be required. Tell the office-holder early which assets you want, expect the price to be tested, and take your own advice, including on any reuse of the company name.
What is the difference between administration and liquidation for a company's assets?
In liquidation the company normally stops trading and the liquidator sells the assets to pay creditors. In administration the administrator takes control and runs the business, and may agree a company voluntary arrangement, sell the business as a going concern, or sell the assets and move to liquidation. So in administration, machinery and vehicles may keep working under the administrator's authority while the outcome is decided.
Who gets paid first when company assets are sold in liquidation?
From assets not subject to a fixed charge, the expenses of the winding up come first, then ordinary preferential debts such as certain employee pay and holiday pay, then secondary preferential debts such as certain HMRC debts including VAT, then any prescribed part for unsecured creditors, then the floating charge holder, then unsecured creditors. Shareholders receive only what is left after the debts are paid.
Sources and references
- Liquidate your limited company: what happens to directors · GOV.UK, 2026 https://www.gov.uk/liquidate-your-company/what-happens-to-directors
- Put your company into administration · GOV.UK, 2026 https://www.gov.uk/put-your-company-into-administration
- Insolvency Act 1986, section 238: transactions at an undervalue · legislation.gov.uk, 2026 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/45/section/238
- The Administration (Restrictions on Disposal etc. to Connected Persons) Regulations 2021, regulation 3 · legislation.gov.uk, 2021 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/427/regulation/3/made
- Insolvency Act 1986, section 175: preferential debts · legislation.gov.uk, 2026 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/45/section/175
When a liquidator, administrator or business owner instructs us, the machinery and vehicles stay where they stand until they are sold and paid for. The seller pays no selling fees and receives 100% of the hammer price together with any applicable VAT.
View liquidation and insolvency auctionsUniversal Auctions Group. This article is general information for trade buyers and sellers and is not financial, tax or legal advice.
