Search the Latest Distressed Opportunities

What is a distressed business? It is a business that is unable to pay its creditors as the debts fall due. That means it is facing financial difficulties and is at risk of insolvency or bankruptcy. There is always a root cause for these difficulties – a buyer needs to know what this is and how to fix it.

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Businesses in Administration

We have the UK’s most comprehensive online database for distressed business. We list UK companies that fall into administration, liquidation and have winding up petitions lodged against them. Our online database is updated daily with new distressed listings and our members are notified of new distressed businesses via our daily email alerts. For access to all this and more become a member of Business Sale Report today.

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Latest Businesses in Administration

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Contact business sellers directly
Access the direct contact details for all businesses listed for sale with a turnover in excess of £300,000. View smaller businesses for sale here.
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View businesses for sale
View thousands of UK businesses for sale listed here by private owners, intermediaries, brokers and accountants all in one place, saving you time and ensuring you don’t miss out on potential opportunities.
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Get access to UK Company Lens
This is an advanced tool developed by BSR to make your off-market prospect search faster and easier. Browse hundreds of thousands of companies in the UK by industry, location or status. As a BSR subscriber you will also receive a discount on any records purchase.
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Save businesses & searches
As a member you can save individual businesses or searches to your account so you can come back to them anytime.
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Latest companies in administration & liquidation
View all UK companies that enter into administration or liquidation in real-time, along with contact details of the insolvency practitioners and the company’s latest financial information
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Latest winding-up petitions
View businesses that have had a winding-up petition lodged against them.
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Daily Email Alerts
Receive customisable daily email alerts for the latest businesses for sale, companies in administration, liquidation and winding up petitions, keeping you up to date anytime, anywhere.
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Create Business Wanted Advert
Advertise your acquisition requirements to business sellers and intermediaries across the UK via our business wanted section.
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Receive our Business Sale Report publication
Published monthly, the Business Sale Report contains the current month's businesses for sale, along with informative articles on mergers & acquisitions.
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List your businesses for sale
You can list businesses for sale with us for free - no hidden charges or commission to pay.
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Latest Businesses in Liquidation

In what circumstances does a company find itself in administration?

When a company is facing financial difficulties or has high company debt it can be placed into administration. This means that while the business is in administration the business, affairs and assets of the company are managed by a person ('the administrator') appointed for that purpose.

The administrator must be a licensed insolvency practitioner. The Administrator's objective is to rescue the company as a going concern or achieve a better result for the creditors than would be likely if the company were wound up without first being in administration, or if this is not practical realising assets to make a distribution to secured or preferential creditors. This is often achieved by selling the company, or by selling the company's assets. In many instances the company is still trading.

The use of prepackaged administrations may occur where an agreement for the sale of the business or assets is put in place prior to administration and the sale occurs at the same time as the insolvent practitioner is appointed.

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Latest publications

How can a business be placed into administration?

A company may be placed into administration: by an order of the court, on application by, the company, its directors, one or more creditors, or, if it is in liquidation, its liquidator; without a court order, by the direct appointment of an administrator by the company, its directors or a creditor who holds comprehensive security of a type which qualifies him to make such an appointment.

Read about the experiences of entrepreneurs who are buying distressed businesses

Latest Winding Up Petitions

What are you looking for?

We list all businesses that have been put into administration in the UK. The database is updated every day, and you can opt to have daily email alerts of the latest businesses in administration.

Click here to see the latest businesses in administration.
We update our listing on a daily basis, well before Companies House. We also list businesses with winding-up petitions lodged against them. Winding-up petitions are a great way to spot troubled companies before they become insolvent. We provide daily notifications of businesses that have had winding-up petitions lodged against them. In some cases our subscribers will have been notified up to six weeks in advance of the company becoming insolvent.

Click here to see the latest businesses with winding-up petitions lodged against them.
There are a number of great businesses that have run into trouble, be it financial or management related; these businesses present wonderful opportunities for those correctly positioned to capitalise on their failings. A business in administration may have assets up for sale at a fraction of their market value as a result of their insolvent status.

Additionally, liquidators will often sell a business’ assets at a reduced price. Our members frequently use our information on company liquidations to capitalise on failing competitors, snapping up contracts, client banks and assets from failed rivals.

Click here to see the latest businesses with winding-up petitions lodged against them.
Many businesses that fall into administration will have associated property assets that may be put up for sale. Our members can filter their searches for property related distressed businesses. We list the total fixed assets of these businesses, high assets are a great indicator that a business has property related assets that might be sold by the administrators.
Timing is crucial as administrators may already be in contact with parties interested in the business or assets. Making sure you are aware of distressed businesses as soon as possible is vital. Remember, you’re unlikely to be the only one looking for a particular business or asset. Those that sit back waiting for an opportunity often miss their chance.
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