Partnership Administration

Partnership Administration

What is a Partnership Administration Order?

The Partnership Administration Order procedure is available for insolvent partnerships, which have been trading for at least three years. There are many similarities with the Administration procedure for a limited company.

Although Partnership Administration is similar in a number of ways to Administration for a limited company and also has similarities to Administrative Receivership, it must be considered on its own merits and not confused with those procedures.

A Partnership Administration Order is obtained through an application to Court, which has to be convinced that the partnership cannot pay its debts and where one of the following events would be achieved:

• The continued trading of the partnership as a going concern
• A Partnership Voluntary Arrangement (PVA) can be agreed with the creditors so the partnership’s debt can be restructured
• A better return for creditors than could be achieved if the partnership was liquidated

What happens when a Partnership goes into Administration?

A petition for a Partnership Administration Order can be presented to the Court by the members of the partnership, its creditors or the Supervisor of a Partnership Voluntary Arrangement.

The Administrator appointed by the Court takes control of the affairs of the business. Any ongoing enforcement action by creditors is frozen and no new action can be taken without the permission of the Court or the Administrator.

The Administrator works with the partnership on an agreed plan or a pre-pack sale of its business and assets to ensure either the continuation of the business or the maximisation of the recovery for the creditors. As with an Administration of a limited company, the Administrator has a statutory duty to act in the best interests of the creditors as a whole and cannot favour one or some of the creditors over the others.

Advice on Partnership Administration

For more information on Partnership Administration, we offer an initial free consultation to review the situation and make recommendations on the best way forward. If we think that Partnership Administration is the best route forward, our specialists can support the business at every step of the way through the process.

Contact our Head Office on +44 (0) 20 3326 6454 to arrange a no obligation and confidential call with one of our Partners.