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femi@loftusstowe.com|Companies in England and Wales
A company registered in the London insolvency district can only be wound up in the High Court, whatever its share capital. A request to unfreeze its bank account goes to the Insolvency and Companies List at the Rolls Building. I am Femi Ogunshakin, an insolvency solicitor handling validation orders for companies across England and Wales. The first 30-minute consultation is free.
For a company registered in the district, the answer is the High Court. The usual £120,000 share capital test that lets smaller companies elsewhere be wound up in a county court does not apply.
The Companies Court, Insolvency and Companies List, at The Rolls Building, 7 Rolls Buildings, Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1NL. GOV.UK lists petitions to wind up a company and applications to unfreeze bank accounts among its work.
The test is the place that has longest been the registered office in the 6 months before the petition. If that place is in the district, proceedings can start only in the High Court. The Insolvency Rules send company winding up from the district's hearing centres to the High Court as well.
Most High Court petitions and applications are first listed before an ICC Judge in the Royal Courts of Justice. Urgent and time-critical applications there are heard as soon as reasonably practicable.
Court details come from GOV.UK, the Insolvency Act 1986, the Insolvency Rules 2016 and the insolvency practice direction. I confirm the right court for your company on the first call.
That turns on the registered office. The district is made up of county court hearing centre areas and does not cover all of Greater London.
The district is made up of the areas these hearing centres serve.
Your trading address, office lease or bank branch does not decide it. Only the registered office counts. Moving the registered office shortly before a petition may not change the court, because the test looks back over 6 months.
Croydon, Kingston-upon-Thames and Romford hearing centres serve parts of Greater London but sit outside the district. Each has its own insolvency jurisdiction. Bromley has none, and its insolvency cases go to Croydon.
For a company registered in those areas, the ordinary rule applies. A county court can wind it up if paid-up share capital is £120,000 or less. Above that, it is the High Court.
This page does not map boroughs or postcodes to hearing centres. Send me the registered office address and I will check which court is involved before we decide anything.
In 2025 London had the highest compulsory liquidation rate of any region in England and Wales. It was 22 per 10,000 businesses, against an average of 17, in figures published in June 2026.
London held 538,000 VAT or PAYE registered enterprises in March 2025, almost a fifth of the UK total. In June 2026, its jobs leaned towards professional and technical services, information and communication, and finance, each well above the British share.
If payroll is days away, say so when you call. I will tell you straight away whether the timing works.
A validation order lets the company make payments after the petition without them being void if a winding up order follows. It covers bank payments too. Wages, rent and supplier payments are regularly allowed. Payments that move value to directors or connected companies rarely are.
It does not end the petition or settle the debt behind it. Read what a validation order is, or how a winding up petition runs from service to hearing.
For a district company every stage runs through the High Court. The bank usually acts at the third.
The High Court, if the registered office is in the London insolvency district. The Insolvency and Companies List sits at the Rolls Building, Fetter Lane.
Not inside the district. The High Court rule applies whatever the share capital. The £120,000 limit matters only for companies registered outside it.
The registered office decides it, not where you trade. Outside the district, a county court can hear the petition if paid-up share capital is £120,000 or less.
No. I have no London office and act for companies across England and Wales. The first 30-minute consultation is free.
ICC Judges hear urgent and time-critical applications as soon as reasonably practicable. If wages are due and the evidence is incomplete, the court may allow limited payments for a short period.
GOV.UK lists applications to unfreeze bank accounts as work of the Companies List. The court must see credible evidence that the company is solvent or that the payments will not prejudice unsecured creditors.
A free 30-minute consultation with me to explore your options and protect your business.
The fixed fee for a validation order application is £10,000 to £15,000 plus VAT, depending on the size of the petition debt. See the full fee breakdown.
Who you will deal with
Femi O. Ogunshakin
Solicitor, Tax Adviser and Former HMRC Inspector
Validation order applications are a large part of my practice. Most of the petitions I deal with are brought by HMRC, and my time as an HMRC inspector means I know how the petitioning side builds and runs these cases.
You will deal with me directly rather than with an introducer or a case handler. The work is carried out through Nexa Law, where I practise. The first 30 minutes are free.
If your company has received a winding up petition, it is important to act quickly. Call or email me to discuss how to apply for a validation order from the insolvency courts. I offer a free 30-minute consultation to help you explore your options and protect your business.
07867 795 439
Email femi@loftusstowe.com
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