Companies House to pause strike off process

Companies House has announced that they have once again temporarily paused the voluntary and compulsory strike off processes. The hiatus is set to be in place for one month from 21 January until 21 February 2021. When a company is struck off, the company's legal existence is removed from the Companies House register. The strike off can be voluntary or compulsory. 

Companies House will continue to publish first Gazette notices for voluntary strike off applications to minimise the impact on those who have applied to close their company – but will not be publishing the second Gazette notice and striking companies off during this period. For companies on the compulsory strike off path, Companies House will not be publishing first and second Gazette notices.

Companies House have said that pausing the strike off processes will provide companies with more time to update their records and help them avoid being struck off the register. It’ll also protect creditors and other interested parties who might have had difficulties in receiving notices or registering an objection, or whose objections have not yet been processed.