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View the related practice notes about Bona vacantia

Bona vacantia and company property

DissolutionIf a Companies Act company (ie a company regulated by the Companies Act 2006 or any of its predecessors) is dissolved, all its property as at the moment of dissolution (together with all rights vested in, or held on trust for, but excluding property held on trust for another), passes to the Crown as bona vacantia (ie ownerless goods) under CA 2006, s 1012(1), unless the company’s registered office is located within either the Duchy of Cornwall or the Duchy of Lancaster, in which case the bona vacantia passes to that Duchy — but note that freehold land lying within the area of the Duchy of Cornwall vests in the Duke of Cornwall on dissolution regardless of where the company’s registered office may have been situated).NOTE: The Duchy of Cornwall is held by the Duke of Cornwall under a charter of 1337 (which confers the dukedom on the eldest son of the monarch and heir to the throne): it extends to the entire county of Cornwall. The Duchy of Lancaster...

Dissolution and bona vacantia—dealing with the Treasury Solicitor

Bona vacantia means ‘goods without an owner’ and is a relevant consideration where any company is at risk of being struck off and dissolved. Any assets which have not otherwise been disposed of and remain in the ownership of the company at the time of strike off or dissolution pass to the Crown bona vacantia. This Practice Note considers the practical issues arising from the perspective of a receiver appointed to (or to be appointed to) property which has vested in the Crown bona vacantia.Instances of property, land and chattels passing to the Crown bona vacantia have been on the rise. This is in part because the Registrar of Companies is able to strike off and dissolve companies that they believe are not carrying on business under section 1000 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006); often, this will be where the company fails to file statutory information by a given deadline, eg annual accounts.For further information on how a company may be dissolved, see Practice Notes: Voluntary striking off...

View the related q&as about Bona vacantia

Do the English property and assets of a dissolved overseas company pass to the Crown as bona vacantia?

Do the English property and assets of a dissolved overseas company pass to the Crown as bona vacantia? When a company registered in England and Wales is dissolved, all property and rights vested in or held on trust for it (including leasehold property) will be deemed bona vacantia (meaning ‘ownerless property’) at the date of dissolution and will vest in and belong to the Crown (or the Duchy of Lancaster or Duchy of Cornwall, as may be appropriate). The treatment of companies incorporated outside the UK (overseas companies) is dealt with in Part 34 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006), which gives the Secretary of State power to make regulations to impose on overseas companies various registration, reporting and disclosure requirements. The two principal regulations dealing with overseas companies are: • the Overseas Companies Regulations 2009, SI 2009/1801 • the Overseas Companies (Execution of Documents and Registration of Charges) Regulations 2009, SI 2009/1917, as amended by the Overseas Companies (Execution of Documents and Registration of...

View the latest UK Parliament Acts documents on Bona vacantia

1012 Property of dissolved company to be bona vacantia

(1)     When a company is dissolved, all property and rights whatsoever vested in or held on trust for the company immediately before its dissolution (including leasehold property, but not including property held by the company on trust for another person) are deemed to be bona vacantia and—(a)     accordingly belong to the Crown, or to the Duchy of Lancaster or to the Duke of Cornwall for the time being (as the case may be), and(b)     vest and may be dealt with in

1014 Effect of Crown disclaimer

(1)     Where notice of disclaimer is executed under section 1013 as respects any property, that property is deemed not to have vested in the Crown under section 1012.(2)     The following sections contain provisions as to the effect of the Crown disclaimer—sections 1015 to 1019 apply in relation to property in England and Wales or Northern Ireland;sections 1020 to 1022 apply in relation to property in Scotland.