United Kingdom insolvency law regulates companies in the
United Kingdom which are unable to repay their debts. While
UK bankruptcy law concerns the rules for
natural persons, the term insolvency is generally used for companies formed under the
Companies Act 2006. "Insolvency" means being unable to pay debts. Since the
Cork Report of 1982, the modern policy of UK insolvency law has been to attempt to rescue a company that is in difficulty, to minimise losses and fairly distribute the burdens between the community, employees, creditors and other stakeholders that result from enterprise failure. If a company cannot be saved it is "liquidated", so that the assets are sold off to repay creditors according to their priority. The main sources of law include the
Insolvency Act 1986, the
Insolvency Rules 1986, the
Company Director Disqualification Act 1986, the
Employment Rights Act 1996 Part XII, the
Insolvency Regulation (EC) 1346/2000 and case law. Numerous other Acts, statutory instruments and cases relating to
labour,
banking,
property and
conflicts of laws also shape the subject.