The most common situation where a Winding Up Petition is served is where debts are owed to HMRC. There are two reasons why HMRC can be aggressive in moving to wind up a business. The first is that HMRC has preferential creditor status which means that HMRC might wind up even a company with relatively small assets because HMRC will have a decent chance of recovering some money. The second reason why HMRC will often follow through on threats to issue a winding-up petition is due to public policy, to demonstrate that failure to pay corporate taxes may well result in your business being wound up. If you are behind with your taxes and being pressured by HMRC, it is often best to get advice early, assess your options, communicate with HMRC and avoid being wound up by them. We can help, so please do get in contact.