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Bona vacantia and company records: what happens when a UK company is dissolved
A dissolved UK company's property usually passes to the Crown as bona vacantia. What that means for its records, and when restoration is worth it.
When a UK company is dissolved, it stops existing as a legal person. Anything it still owned at that moment does not simply disappear. Under the Companies Act 2006, s.1012, the company's remaining property is deemed bona vacantia, "ownerless goods", and generally passes to the Crown.
Who deals with it
For most companies registered in England and Wales, the Government Legal Department's Bona Vacantia Division acts for the Crown. Different arrangements apply in the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, and in Scotland the King's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer deals with ownerless property.
What it means for records
Business records, including the rights in databases, documents and software exports, can be part of a company's property. Once the company is dissolved, former directors and shareholders generally have no authority to license them. That is why the dissolution date matters so much: before it, an officeholder can act; after it, usually nobody can until the position changes.
Restoration: the usual way back
A dissolved company can sometimes be restored to the register, either administratively by the registrar (s.1024) or by court order (s.1029). Restoration generally returns the company's property to it, so an officeholder or the directors can act again. It costs time and fees, so it only makes sense when there is a real asset to realise and the records still exist.
A practical check
- Find the dissolution date on Companies House.
- Check whether the records still exist and can be exported. Lapsed software subscriptions are the usual reason they cannot.
- Check the company had 30 or more staff at its peak, which micro1 lists for its defunct-company track company.micro1.ai/get-started · 15 Nov 2026.
- Ask a solicitor whether restoration is possible and worthwhile before you approach any buyer.
If the company is still in administration or liquidation, none of this applies yet: the officeholder controls the assets. Read our UK rights guide or run the fit check.
