Red flags
Strike-off notice in the Gazette: what it means for your deposit
A strike-off notice means Companies House has begun removing a company from the register — after which it ceases to exist. The notice is published in the Gazette at least two months before dissolution, and in that window the company can still look normal: website live, phone answered, deposits accepted. If money you are owed is at stake, you can object to the strike-off and stop it. If you are about to pay a deposit, don’t.
Key facts
- Strike-off comes in two forms: voluntary (the directors apply on form DS01) and compulsory (Companies House acts, usually because accounts or the confirmation statement were not filed) — Companies Act 2006, ss.1000–1003.
- The notice appears in The Gazette and on the company’s Companies House page (“Active — proposal to strike off” or a First Gazette notice); dissolution follows no sooner than about two months later.
- Directors applying voluntarily must not have traded in the previous three months and must tell creditors — including customers holding deposits. Many don’t.
- Anyone owed money can object to Companies House with evidence; a valid objection suspends the strike-off.
- When a company is dissolved, its remaining assets pass to the Crown as bona vacantia; claims are only possible if the company is later restored to the register.
What a strike-off notice is
Striking off is the administrative removal of a company from the register — cheaper and quieter than liquidation, with no liquidator, no creditors’ meeting and no one whose job is to pay you back. The Gazette notice is the legal warning shot: it names the company and says that unless cause is shown, it will be struck off and dissolved. A dissolved company is not a business in trouble; it is a business that has legally ceased to exist, and a contract with it is a contract with nobody.
The timeline
Application or Companies House action → First Gazette notice → a window of roughly two months for objections → dissolution notice → the company is gone. The whole process can complete inside a quarter — faster than most kitchens are delivered, which is exactly the problem.
How to find it in 30 seconds
Open the company on Companies House. Three places show it: the status line at the top (“Active — proposal to strike off”), the filing history (“First Gazette notice for compulsory strike-off” or “Application to strike the company off the register”), and, if you are late, a “Final Gazette dissolved” entry. A free company check reads the same record and puts a pending strike-off in the first line, because it is one of the few facts that make a verdict red on its own.
Voluntary vs compulsory: two different stories
| Voluntary (DS01) | Compulsory (First Gazette notice) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who starts it | The directors | Companies House |
| Usual reason | Closing a company that (they say) has stopped trading | Accounts or confirmation statement not filed despite reminders |
| What it tells you about a trading business | The directors are shutting this company — so who would honour your contract and guarantee? | The company has ignored its legal filings for months; it may be abandoned |
| Legitimate version | Retirement, a dormant company being tidied away, a group simplification | Rarely legitimate for a business actively taking money |
| With your deposit at stake | Objection stops it; the debt survives | Objection stops it; but ask why a firm quoting for work cannot file a form |
The pattern to recognise
A trading business with a strike-off pending, still taking deposits, is often mid-way through the sequence you can read about across our red-flag guides: stop filing, let the company be struck off, reappear under a new number. The directors’ history on the register — several dissolved companies in the same trade — completes the picture, and it is one of the checks in how to check if a company is legit.
Why a pending strike-off and a deposit don’t mix
- No process protects you. Unlike liquidation there is no liquidator, no proof-of-debt form, no distribution. Dissolution simply switches the company off; remaining assets go to the Crown.
- Your guarantee dies with the company. A ten-year workmanship guarantee from a dissolved company is a piece of paper.
- The refund route is restoration — applying to put the company back on the register so you can sue it. It is possible (within six years), slow, and rarely worth it for a consumer deposit; the practical routes are the ones in our transfer guide: Section 75 if any part went on a credit card, chargeback for a debit card, an APP claim if deposits were taken with no intention to deliver.
- The window is short. Two months from first notice to dissolution is less than the lead time of most bespoke work. A company that will not exist at delivery cannot deliver.
If they owe you money: how to object
- Check the status. If it still says “proposal to strike off”, you are in time. If it says dissolved, the route is restoration instead.
- Gather evidence of the debt: contract or quote, proof of payment, correspondence chasing delivery or refund.
- Object to Companies House — an email or letter stating the company name and number, that you are a creditor, and attaching the evidence. There is no fee. A valid objection suspends the strike-off, typically for months, renewable.
- Use the time. An objection does not pay you; it keeps the company alive so that a Section 75 claim, a chargeback, a money claim or a winding-up petition still has a defendant.
- Consider telling HMRC if tax is plainly unpaid — HMRC is the most frequent objector and its objection carries weight.
Quoting for work with a First Gazette notice on the file
A building services company: website live, TrustMark and NICEIC logos, a form inviting deposits. The register: First Gazette notice for compulsory strike-off, accounts overdue, £16 of cash in the last accounts filed, no reviews anywhere, and “ten years of experience” from a company formed in 2020. Anyone paying that week would have paid a company scheduled to stop existing — with no liquidator and nothing to claim against. The notice had been public, free and one click deep the whole time.
Enter a website address, e.g. aurelia-kitchens.co.uk
Frequently asked questions
What does “first Gazette notice for compulsory strike-off” mean?
Companies House has formally warned that it will remove the company from the register — usually because accounts or the confirmation statement were not filed. Unless someone objects, the company will be dissolved about two months later.
Can a company still trade with a strike-off notice?
Legally a company applying voluntarily must have stopped trading, and trading on makes the directors personally exposed — but nothing physically stops the website taking deposits. That gap between the paperwork and the shopfront is why the notice matters to customers.
Can I stop a strike-off if the company owes me money?
Yes. Write to Companies House stating you are a creditor, with evidence of the debt. There is no fee, and a valid objection suspends the strike-off — buying time for a Section 75 claim, chargeback or court claim while a defendant still exists.
What happens to my deposit if the company is dissolved?
The company no longer exists, so there is no one to demand it from; its remaining assets pass to the Crown. Recovery runs through your card issuer (Section 75 or chargeback), an APP scam claim if you were deceived, or — rarely worthwhile — restoring the company to the register to sue it.
Is “Active — proposal to strike off” the same as being in liquidation?
No. Liquidation is a formal insolvency with a liquidator who collects assets and pays creditors in order. Strike-off has no process at all — which for a creditor is worse.
The notice was discontinued — is the company fine now?
“Discontinued” means someone objected or the company filed what was missing. It survives, but the episode stays on the filing history. A firm that drifted to the edge of dissolution once deserves the rest of the checks before any deposit.
Sources
- Companies Act 2006, Part 31 — striking off (ss.1000–1011)
- GOV.UK — Strike off, dissolution and restoration (Companies House guidance)
- The Gazette — company notices
- GOV.UK — Object to a company being struck off
- Bona vacantia — dissolved company assets
- SafeToPay methodology v1.1 — what makes a verdict red