So if anyone's interested, the process for compulsory dissolution is as follows.
Companies are required by law to make certain filings every year, all companies are required to file a confirmation statement (yes this company exists, its data on the register is correct), and most companies are also required to file accounts (unlimited companies are exempt from this).
If you fail to file your accounts or your confirmation statement, either one, it doesn't matter which, Companies House write to you at the company's registered office, and if you still don't file, they write to you again. This second letter says "unless you bring your company up to date by [date] or you contact us saying you still need the company, we will start the process of striking the company off the register." They can also write to the company's directors at their home addresses.
That's where Herts Meals 2022 CIC are, they missed the deadline for filing their first set of accounts, ignored all the warning letters, and so CH have started the strike-off process.
The first notice will be in the London Gazette shortly. This will be followed, unless the missing accounts are filed, by the second notice which is the final strike-off notification.
Up until the publication of the final notice, the company can be restored relatively easily - you file the missing document(s), you pay any fees and/or penalties due, that's it. There are no penalties for late filing of a confirmation statement but there are escalating penalties depending on how late your accounts are, and those penalties are doubled if you are late two years in a row.
If your company has been dissolved, any assets in it (money, property, trademarks, anything) belong to the Crown under bona vacantia, and you have to restore the company to get them back. That is
expensive.
- You have to pay the penalties due for late filing for the accounts, which will be, given the amount of time it takes to strike off a company, either £750 or £1,500 (double those numbers if your accounts were late the year before). If two sets of accounts are overdue, two penalties will be payable.
- You have to get a letter from the Solicitor general's office, which costs £64
- You have to pay a restoration fee of £468
- You have to pay the annual confirmation statement fee
Herts Meals are in a bit of a sticky situation here and this needs to be sorted, otherwise in about three months' time they'll find their bank account frozen and whatever is left of Carly's donation will go off to the Solicitor General.
Carly has, I reckon, about two months to file her missing confirmation statement before the first gazette notice gets filed.