The following section provides an overview of the primary responsibilities and duties of liquidators, receivers and examiners. Details of their complete responsibilities under the Companies Act, under secondary legislation and related case law is available in the ODCE Information Book "The Principal Duties and Powers of Liquidators, Receivers and Examiners" downloadable under the "Related Links" section at the end of this page.
Liquidators
A liquidator is a person appointed to conducts a liquidation or winding up of a company.
The main legislative provisions concerning liquidators are set out in Section 11 - Chapter 8 of the Companies Act 2014.
Principal Duties of Liquidators
The general functions of both voluntary and Court-approinted (official) liquidators are the same i.e. to:-
Inquire into the company's affairs;
- realise its assets;
- pay its debts, and;
- distribute any surplus to the members.
Receivers
A receiver is a person appointed whose function is to receive a debtor's assets for a creditor who has an entitlement over the asset. The main task of a receiver is to take control of those assets that have been mortgaged or charged by the person or company in favour of a lender, to sell such assets and apply the proceeds to discharge the debts owing to the lender.
The main legislative provisions concerning receivers are set out in Part 8 of the Companies Act 2014.
Examiners
An examiner is a person, appointed to a company by the Court, to examine the state of a company's affairs and guide it through a restructuring process and if possible, prepares a plan for the rescue of the company, its undertakings or substantial parts thereof.
The main legislative provisions concerning examiners are set out in Part 10 of the Companies Act 2014.
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