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Two doors.
One tries to save.
The other ends it.

Both are formal insolvency processes run by licensed insolvency practitioners. Administration aims to rescue the company or sell its business as a going concern. Liquidation winds the company up, sells everything, pays what can be paid, and dissolves the company.

ADMINISTRATION
PurposeRescue the company, achieve a better result for creditors than liquidation, or realise property for secured creditors.
ControlAn administrator takes over from the directors. The company still exists.
MoratoriumLegal protection: creditors cannot take action without court permission.
Typical endCompany returns to directors, business sold as a going concern, or moves into liquidation.
For suppliersThe business may continue under new ownership. Pre-administration debts are handled inside the process.
LIQUIDATION
PurposeBring the company to an end in an orderly way and distribute what remains.
ControlA liquidator replaces the directors entirely. The company's life is over.
MoratoriumNone needed: the company is being wound up, not defended.
Typical endAssets sold, creditors paid in order, company dissolved at Companies House.
For suppliersRegister your claim and wait your turn in the payment order. Recovery is often limited.

How they connect

Administration often comes first. If the rescue fails or the business cannot be sold, the administration converts into liquidation. That sequence is common: a company enters administration, the viable parts are sold (sometimes back to the old directors, which is how phoenix activity can arise lawfully), and the shell is liquidated.

What creditors should do

In administration, keep supplying only on new terms agreed with the administrator; pre-administration debts sit inside the process. In liquidation, register your claim promptly and respond to proof-of-debt requests. In both, the order in which creditors are paid is fixed: see who gets paid first in insolvency.

Reading it on a profile
The Gazette notices on a Black Flag Alert profile show appointments of administrators and liquidators with dates. The sequence of notices tells you which door the company went through, and when.

Check any England & Wales company free. R-Score, CCJs, winding-up petitions, charges and five years of accounts on every profile.

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