ENGLAND & WALES Law and Practice Contributed by: James Herring, Nathalie Allen and David Wigg, Addleshaw Goddard
Enforcement by Taking Control of Goods The judgment creditor can apply to court to take con - trol of the judgment debtor’s goods for the purpose of selling those goods to pay the judgment debt. This involves instructing an enforcement agent to collect and sell goods (by entering the judgment debtor’s premises). Insolvency Proceedings Monies owing under a judgment are a debt and it may be possible to instigate insolvency proceedings for non-payment by applying to make an individual bank - rupt or declare a corporate entity insolvent. In relation to an individual, the process involves serv - ing a statutory demand requiring the judgment debtor to pay the debt. The debt would need to be above a prescribed amount – GBP5,000 at the time of writing (July 2025). If the judgment debtor fails to pay this debt, the next stage is to petition for a bankruptcy order with a view to a trustee in bankruptcy being appointed to collect the judgment debtor’s assets and distribute these to the creditors. In relation to a company, a statutory demand can also be served, although this is not always necessary. The debt would need to be more than GBP750 (as of July 2025); if unpaid, the next step would be to present a winding-up petition with a view to the appointment of a liquidator, again to collect and distribute the judg - ment debtor’s assets. A judgment creditor may be able to apply for an administration order in relation to a company. This is an unusual step but could be appropriate if the debtor is a trading business with limited tangible assets and its ability to repay the judgment debt is therefore reli - ant on the continuation of the business. Administra - tion is a regime aimed at business rescue, in order to achieve the best outcome for a company’s creditors. If there is any suspicion that the debtor has moved or sold any of its assets to avoid paying the judgment debt, then it is important to consider insolvency pro - ceedings as part of the enforcement strategy. Insolvency practitioners have powers to investigate and apply to the court to reverse certain transactions entered into by a debtor prior to its insolvency. The
rules for such claims differ depending on the circum - stances of each case, but there are typically time limits for such claims, so early assessment of the benefits of this strategy is very important. In certain circumstances, individuals and companies may be able to benefit from short statutory morato - riums on enforcement, where their position may be improved by the grant of a short period of time in which to organise their affairs. Advice should be taken in relation to relevant procedures if considering insol - vency proceedings. Appointment of a Receiver A judgment creditor may be able to apply to court for the appointment of a receiver over the judgment debtor’s assets. This option is usually only available as a last resort when it is not possible to enforce the judgment by a more normal route. This method of enforcement could potentially be useful in relation to, for example, companies with specific valuable assets such as real estate or IP. However, the assets of debt - ors in financial difficulty are usually subject to security in favour of other parties, so it is often difficult to take control of such assets. An application to appoint a receiver can be made without notice to the judgment debtor but must be supported by evidence. Contempt of Court A creditor may be able to instigate contempt of court proceedings for failure to comply with a judgment or court order (often considered, for example, where there has been a breach of an injunction). In this regard, the applicant can, for example, seek an order to send an individual to prison for contempt of court (or, in the case of a company, the application can be made against the company’s directors). Taking such action is usually viewed as a remedy of last resort where there is a history of disobedience of court orders in ongoing proceedings. Freezing Order As discussed in 1.1 Options to Identify Another Par- ty’s Asset Position and 2.1 Types of Domestic Judg- ments , a judgment creditor may be able to apply to
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