Voluntary Liquidation
There are two types of voluntary liquidation, Members' Voluntary Liquidation and Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation.

Members' Voluntary Liquidation ('MVL') is a solvent liquidation where the company has sufficient assets in order to pay all of its liabilities in full within 12 months. The company may have achieved the purpose for which it was formed or its shareholders may wish to realise their investment in the company.

The procedure for an 'MVL' is fairly straightforward. The Directors of the Company swear a Statutory Declaration of Solvency to this effect, and convene a meeting of the company's shareholders in order to pass a winding up resolution an appoint a Liquidator.

The duly appointed Liquidator then realises the company's assets, pays off all creditors together with statutory interest and returns any surplus to the shareholders.

Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation ('CVL') is an insolvent liquidation where the company's assets are insufficient to pay creditors in full. Again the procedure is straightforward. The Directors who have recognised the company's insolvency, convene meetings of shareholders and creditors. At their meeting the shareholders pass a resolutions to wind up the company and appoint a Liquidator. At the creditors meeting, creditors receive a report on the trading history of the company, may ask questions of any of the company's officers who are present, and may put forward an alternative nomination for Liquidator which is then subject to a vote.

Unlike in an MVL, in a CVL the Liquidator has a duty to submit a report on the conduct of the Directors of the company to the DTI.