Companies Act 2014 section 657

Power to make calls

Section 657 empowers the liquidator and the court to demand payments (known as "calls") from contributories during a winding up, to cover the company's debts, winding-up expenses, and to adjust rights between contributories.

• The liquidator may make calls on contributories at any time, regardless of whether the company's assets have been fully assessed
• Calls can be made to pay company debts, cover winding-up costs, and balance the rights of contributories among themselves
• The court may also make calls, but only on application by the liquidator after notice has been given to the relevant contributories
• When making a call, both the court and the liquidator may factor in the likelihood that some contributories will fail to pay in full or at all