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When a long-forgotten corporate issue threatened to derail the sale of a client's leasehold flat, and their retirement plans along with it, we devised a clear strategy and delivered a successful outcome, restoring the dissolved company to the Register of Companies and clearing the path forward.
The result allowed the client to realise the value of their property investment and move forward with their retirement.
The client, a director of a property management company, had initially instructed our residential property team to handle the sale of their leasehold flat that was intended to fund the client’s retirement. During the conveyancing process, a significant problem came to light; the freehold interest in the property had never been properly transferred out of the property management company before it was dissolved. Without a functioning freeholder on record, the sale could not proceed.
The client's retirement plans were put on hold indefinitely. What should have been a straightforward transaction became a complex legal challenge requiring specialist intervention. Our team was instructed alongside the residential property team to find a solution.
Restoring a dissolved company to the Register of Companies is not a simple administrative step. It requires satisfying specific legal criteria under the Companies Act 2006, including securing the formal consent of both the Registrar of Companies and the Treasury Solicitor, the government's legal representative. Each of these parties must be satisfied that there is a legitimate basis for the restoration, and the process involves detailed court proceedings.
For the client, the challenge was clear: without this restoration, there was no route to completing the sale and no way to access the funds they had been counting on.
We filed a formal court application to restore the dissolved company to the Register. They prepared detailed witness statements setting out the full history of the property and the dissolved company, and compiled the financial information needed to satisfy the court that the restoration served a legitimate purpose.
We managed the vital procedural requirements of the application from end to end, including liaising with the Registrar of Companies and the Treasury Solicitor to secure the necessary consents ahead of the hearing. By anticipating potential objections and addressing every legal requirement from the outset, we ensured the application proceeded smoothly and without adjournment, avoiding unnecessary delays for a client who had already waited far too long.
The court approved the application in full. With the company restored, the legal obstacle preventing the property sale was removed. The client was able to complete the sale of their leasehold flat, realise the value of their investment, and,most importantly, move forward with the retirement they had planned.
What had been an 18-month stalemate was resolved decisively, giving the client both financial certainty and peace of mind.
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