Can an Administrator sell the company assets?
The simple answer is yes but only if it is in the best interest of the creditors to do so. When a company is placed into Voluntary Administration, the administrator(s) must quickly decide if the company can be traded on and if a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) can be put forward to the creditors.
If it quickly becomes clear that the company cannot be restructured in such a way as to allow it to continue trading, then a DOCA cannot be recommended to the creditors of the company. The administrator(s) should consider immediately calling a watershed meeting and recommending liquidation.
However, if there is the prospect of selling the business assets of the company for a value that exceeds a liquidation sale, i.e. as a going concern, then the administrators must seriously consider this option even if that occurs prior to the watershed meeting taking place. The administrator(s) are there, as a liquidator is, to seek the best possible recovery from the assets of the company for the benefit of the creditors. If selling the business provides the best value, then that is exactly what they should be doing.
