There are many diverse reasons for a financial services entity to restructure or terminate its operations and this will have both commercial and regulatory implications. We help clients manage both, meeting the commercial objectives within the context of full regulatory compliance.
A Members’ Voluntary Liquidation (‘MVL’) is the voluntary winding-up by the shareholders of a solvent company. All creditors are, or will be, paid in full.
Grant Thornton has assembled a dedicated MVL team comprising of a manager and five accountants. The team is part of our Recovery and reorganisation department and draws on the expertise of our financial services, audit and company secretarial teams in addition to our tax department to provide a full and knowledgeable service.
Shareholders may wish to put a company into MVL for a variety of reasons:
- group re-organisations; closing down dormant subsidiaries, winding up of companies no longer required after a merger/acquisition.
- tax planning; shareholder distributions are subject to Capital Gains Tax rather than income tax rates. Freehold property may be distributed in specie avoiding stamp duty.
- end of useful life; where a company has fulfilled and completed its role, e.g. a development company or a fund.
- exit strategy; for shareholders wishing to exit a business and sell assets, e.g. retirement.
- shareholders dispute; splitting of a business and/or assets between shareholders.
View our factsheet for more detail on MVL's