Short answer: the company's assets are not yours to keep — they belong to the company, which is being wound up, and they go to creditors. But there are important distinctions worth understanding.
Company assets and personal assets are legally separate. Once liquidation begins, all company assets fall under the liquidator's control. Vehicles, equipment, stock, furniture, money in company bank accounts, debtors owed to the company — all of it is gathered, valued, and sold to pay creditors in legal priority order.
You cannot move, sell, hide, or transfer company assets to yourself or to anyone else before liquidation in an attempt to keep them. This is one of the most serious things a director can do wrong — it's potentially a criminal offence and certainly grounds for personal liability and clawback by the liquidator.
If you've already transferred assets, even genuinely, in the months before liquidation, the liquidator can investigate and potentially reverse the transactions. Be honest about everything in your first consultation — attempting to hide assets makes things much worse.
Your personal assets — your home, your personal vehicle, your personal savings, things you own outside the company — are not part of the company's liquidation. They are not at risk just because the company is liquidated.
The exception, again, is personal sureties. If you've signed personal surety for a company debt and the surety is enforced, creditors can pursue your personal assets to recover the debt. This is one of the reasons surety identification is so important early in the process.
Yes, in many cases. When the liquidator sells company assets, you can bid for them like any other interested party — typically through an auction or sometimes private treaty. This must be done openly through the liquidator's process, at fair market value, with no special preference. Many directors do reacquire specific tools, equipment, or vehicles this way, perfectly legally.
Assets that aren't fully paid off don't belong to the company — the financier or lessor has rights. These typically go back to the financier. If you signed personal surety on a vehicle or equipment finance agreement, the financier can pursue you personally for any shortfall after recovery.
Many directors feel deeply attached to the tools and equipment they built the business with. Emotionally, this is hard. Legally, those assets are the company's, and they go to the creditors. The director's role through liquidation is to be transparent about what exists and let the process work — not to try to keep things back. The clean separation is what protects you legally and lets you genuinely move on.
Every case is unique. The information on this page is general guidance and may become outdated as laws and procedures change without notice. It is not legal or financial advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for proper advice on your specific circumstances. Please get a free, confidential assessment of your situation before acting on anything you read here.
When you're ready to discuss your specific situation, our partners at The Debt Company offer a free online consultation. They'll tell you honestly where you stand and what your options are — no pressure, no obligation.