Insolvency Act 1986, section 117

High Court and county court jurisdiction

Part IV Winding Up of Companies Registered under the Companies Acts

(1)The High Court has jurisdiction to wind up any company registered in England and Wales.

(2)F270Where [F269in the case of a company registered in England and Wales the amount of itsF269] share capital paid up or credited as paid up does not exceed £120,000, then (subject to this section) the county court ... has concurrent jurisdiction with the High Court to wind up the company.

[F271 (2A)Despite subsection (2), proceedings for the exercise of the jurisdiction to wind up a company registered in England and Wales may be commenced only in the High Court if the place which has longest been the company’s registered office during the 6 months immediately preceding the presentation of the petition for winding up is in the district that is the London insolvency district for the purposes of the second Group of Parts of this Act.F271]

(3)The money sum for the time being specified in subsection (2) is subject to increase or reduction by order under section 416 in Part XV.

F272(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5)Every court in England and Wales having winding-up jurisdiction has for the purposes of that jurisdiction all the powers of the High Court; and every prescribed officer of the court shall perform any duties which an officer of the High Court may discharge by order of a judge of that court or otherwise in relation to winding up.

F273(6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F274(7). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F275 (8)The Lord Chief Justice may nominate a judicial office holder (as defined in section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) to exercise his functions under this section.F275]

Definitions used in section 117 1

the company

2 Section 233B does not apply in relation to a contract for the supply of goods or services to a company (“the company”) where any of paragraphs 3 to 11 applies.

Defined in Sch.4ZZA para.2 · see it in the full Act

Cases considering section 117 6

Hex Technologies Limited & Ors v DCBX Limited

[2023] EWHC 537 (Ch) · 21 March 2023

The court confirms that the High Court has jurisdiction to wind up a company registered in England and Wales. (see para [23])

Nektan (Gibraltar) Ltd, Re In the Matter of the Insolvency Act 1986

[2020] EWHC 65 (Ch) · 17 January 2020

The court used section 117(1) to identify the High Court’s winding-up jurisdiction over a company registered in England and Wales, subject to Article 3 of the EU Regulation. (see para [30]) The court noted the section 117 jurisdictional framework, including its subjection to Article 3 of the EU Regulation, as part of the domestic winding-up analysis. (see para [30])

Koon v Ltd v Bowes & Ors

[2019] EWHC 3455 (Ch) · 11 December 2019

Cited as the statutory basis for the proposed winding-up order, but the court’s substantive reasoning proceeded under paragraph 81 and the related winding-up jurisdiction (see para [2]).

What each judgment says about section 117 is in the case-law panel in the full Act.

Amendments and notes

9 notes from legislation.gov.uk

Amendments

  1. F270Words in s. 117(2) omitted (22.4.2014) by virtue of Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), s. 61(3), Sch. 9 para. 93(a)(ii); S.I. 2014/954, art. 2(c) (with art. 3) (with transitional provisions and savings in S.I. 2014/956, arts. 3-11)
  2. F269Words in s. 117(2) substituted (22.4.2014) by Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), s. 61(3), Sch. 9 para. 93(a)(i); S.I. 2014/954, art. 2(c) (with art. 3) (with transitional provisions and savings in S.I. 2014/956, arts. 3-11)
  3. F271S. 117(2A) inserted by S.I. 1991/724, Sch. Pt. 1 (as amended) (E.W.) (22.4.2014) by The High Court and County Court Jurisdiction (Amendment) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/821), arts. 1, 2(10)(a)(ii) (with art. 3)
  4. F272S. 117(4) omitted (22.4.2014) by virtue of Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), s. 61(3), Sch. 9 para. 93(b); S.I. 2014/954, art. 2(c) (with art. 3) (with transitional provisions and savings in S.I. 2014/956, arts. 3-11)
  5. F273S. 117(6) omitted (22.4.2014) by virtue of Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), s. 61(3), Sch. 9 para. 93(b); S.I. 2014/954, art. 2(c) (with art. 3) (with transitional provisions and savings in S.I. 2014/956, arts. 3-11)
  6. F274S. 117(7) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Insolvency (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/146), reg. 1(3), Sch. para. 19 (with regs. 4, 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  7. F275S. 117(8) inserted (3.4.2006) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 15(1), 148, Sch. 4 para. 186(3); S.I. 2006/1014, art. 2(a), Sch. 1

Modifications

  1. C313S. 117 applied (with modifications) (1.12.1994) by S.I. 1994/2421, art. 7(3), Sch. 3 Pt. II para. 6
  2. C314S. 117 modified (1.12.1994) by S.I. 1994/2421, art. 9(a), Sch. 5 para. 1