How to find UK companies in administration that own property (and what you can buy)

Companies entering administration are listed in The Gazette under notice code 2410 (Appointment of Administrators), and the appointment is filed at Companies House on form AM01. To see whether a company owns property, search HM Land Registry by company name or check the corporate ownership data, then buy the title register for £7. Any sale is handled by the named administrator, who has a statutory power to sell the company's property by public auction or private contract. In DealBrief's data, about 2 in 5 UK administrations (36% to 42% each month, June to September 2026) are at companies that own registered property in England and Wales.

Administration is one of the few insolvency procedures where property often sits at the centre of the case. In our matching of Gazette notices to HM Land Registry titles, roughly 2 in 5 companies entering administration own registered property in England and Wales. That is about four times the rate for companies facing a winding-up petition or entering a creditors' voluntary liquidation. This guide covers what administration is, how to find these companies, how to confirm what they own, and what buying from an administrator usually involves.

What administration is

Administration is a corporate insolvency procedure set out in Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986. A licensed insolvency practitioner is appointed as administrator and takes control of the company's affairs, business and property. The administrator acts as the company's agent.

Paragraph 3 of Schedule B1 gives the administrator a ranked set of objectives:

• First, rescue the company as a going concern.
• If that is not reasonably practicable, achieve a better result for the company's creditors as a whole than would be likely if the company were wound up.
• If neither is reasonably practicable, realise property in order to make a distribution to one or more secured or preferential creditors.

This ranking matters to a buyer. A company in administration is not automatically selling its buildings. If the administrator is trying to rescue the business, a trading site may be kept. Where rescue is not realistic, property is often sold to repay a secured lender.

The moratorium

Once a company enters administration, a moratorium applies under paragraph 43 of Schedule B1. Without the administrator's consent or the court's permission, no step may be taken to enforce security over the company's property, a landlord may not forfeit a lease by peaceable re-entry, and no legal process may be started or continued against the company. In practice this means the administrator, not individual creditors, controls when and how property is sold.

Pre-pack administrations

In a pre-pack, the sale of the business or its assets is arranged before the administrator is appointed and completed on or soon after appointment. These sales are governed by Statement of Insolvency Practice 16. Since 2021, a substantial disposal to a connected person within the first 8 weeks of administration needs either creditor approval or a qualifying report from an independent evaluator, under the Administration (Restrictions on Disposal etc. to Connected Persons) Regulations 2021. If a property was sold in a pre-pack, it may already be gone by the time the Gazette notice appears.

How to find companies in administration

• The Gazette: filter corporate insolvency notices by notice type "Appointment of Administrators" (code 2410). Each notice gives the company name and number, the appointment date and the names, IP numbers and contact details of the administrators.
• Companies House: search the company and open its filing history. Form AM01 is the notice of administrator's appointment. Form AM03 is the notice of the administrator's proposals.
• The proposals: the administrator must send a statement of proposals to creditors within 8 weeks of the company entering administration (paragraph 49 of Schedule B1). Under Rule 3.35 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016, it includes a copy or summary of the statement of affairs, or details of the company's financial position, plus the reasons for and terms of any disposals already made.

The proposals are often the most useful document. They can show whether a property has already been sold, whether it is held by a secured lender, and what the administrator intends to do next.

How to confirm what the company owns

Do not rely on the company's trading address. Many companies trade from rented premises, and many property-owning companies hold land well away from their registered office. HM Land Registry publishes data on UK and overseas companies that own registered land in England and Wales, searchable by company name. You can then use the gov.uk Search for land and property information service to buy the title register for £7 as an online copy, or £11 for an official copy that can be used as legal evidence.

The title register shows the registered owner, the title number, whether the title is freehold or leasehold, the price paid where available, and any registered charges. A charge tells you which lender is likely to be paid from a sale. Leasehold titles need extra care, because the value depends on the lease terms and any consent required from the landlord.

What the numbers show

The figures below come from Gazette appointment-of-administrator notices (code 2410) matched by company number to HM Land Registry corporate ownership titles in England and Wales.

• June 2026: 125 administrations gazetted, 45 at property-owning companies (36%).
• July 2026: 131 administrations, 55 at property-owning companies (42%).
• August 2026: 105 administrations, 40 at property-owning companies (38%).
• September 2026: 93 administrations, 38 at property-owning companies (41%).
• For comparison in September: 45 of 471 winding-up petitions and 111 of 1,105 creditors' voluntary liquidations involved a property-owning company, about 1 in 10 each.

Across July to September 2026, 133 property-owning companies entered administration. Between them they held 672 registered titles, 327 freehold and 345 leasehold. Most cases are small. 79 companies held a single title, 44 held 2 to 5, 7 held 6 to 20 and 3 held more than 20. The median was 1 title.

By HM Land Registry region, the companies were spread as follows (a company with titles in several regions counts in each): Greater London 36, South East 29, North 19, North West 17, Yorkshire and the Humber 16, East Midlands 15, West Midlands 15, South West 13, Wales 6, East Anglia 4.

Some caveats. Matching is by company number to registered titles only. A company in administration may also own unregistered land or property in Scotland, which these counts do not include. Counts are by Gazette publication date, not the date of appointment.

How administrators sell property

Schedule 1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 gives an administrator the power to sell or otherwise dispose of the company's property by public auction or private contract. In practice, administrators usually instruct a commercial agent or an auction house. Expect the following:

• Limited information. The administrator did not run the company and may know little about the building's history.
• Limited warranties. Administrators usually sell with minimal title and condition warranties and exclude personal liability, so your own surveys and legal checks carry more weight.
• Speed. Administrators want certainty and often favour buyers who can exchange quickly with proof of funds.
• Lender influence. Where a property is charged, the secured lender will usually have a strong say in price and timing.

A low price is not guaranteed. The administrator owes duties to creditors and will generally test the market before accepting an offer.

Who to contact

Contact the administrator named in the Gazette notice, or the case manager listed with them. Be specific: give the company name and number, the title number and your position as a buyer. If the property is already with an agent, you will usually be referred to them. Administration normally ends automatically after one year unless it is extended, so timing can matter.

If a lender has appointed a receiver over a single property instead, the process is different. See "What an LPA receiver appointment tells you about a motivated seller". For the earlier warning sign, see "What a winding-up petition tells you about a commercial property owner".

An administration is an indicator, not a verdict. It tells you who controls a property and that a sale is possible. It does not tell you that a property will be sold or at what price. This article is general information, not financial or legal advice.

DealBrief matches Gazette insolvency notices, including administrator appointments, to the registered titles each company owns and flags them daily. Monthly totals are published in the UK Property Distress Index.