Follow the money.
Gross assets are only the beginning. Follow two fictional England and Wales company liquidations to see how assumed expenses and claims affect the distribution.
Cash remaining in the illustrated estate
Start with realised cash
The company’s uncharged assets have produced £100,000. A gross realisation is not the same as the amount available for a dividend.
Read every assumption
- The company is in compulsory liquidation in England and Wales; it is not a relevant financial institution or subject to a special insolvency regime.
- There are no moratorium-related priority liabilities under section 174A of the Insolvency Act 1986; no Part A1 moratorium has preceded the winding up.
- All claims and expenses are assumed properly established; there are no trust assets, postponed debts or special court orders altering priorities.
- £100,000 represents realised cash from uncharged assets.
- The example assumes £10,000 of properly payable liquidation expenses.
- There are £150,000 of admitted ordinary unsecured claims of equal rank.
- There are no preferential claims, security interests, interest, tax adjustments, set-off or disputed claims.
Educational worked examples only. These figures are fictional, not statutory thresholds or estimates of a real recovery. The examples use the Insolvency Act 1986, section 175, Schedule 6 and Insolvency Rules 2016, rule 7.108 and rule 14.12. Source-checked 26 October 2026. The assumptions exclude the special priority for moratorium-related debts under section 174A. Other jurisdictions, secured estates and exceptions require separate treatment.