Not the same problem as an unresponsive adviser
A corporate event, not a service failure
If a firm has entered liquidation, administration, or otherwise formally ceased trading, that's a legal and procedural fact confirmable at Companies House, distinct from an adviser who's simply gone quiet on a live claim (see that situation if you're not yet sure which one you're in). It also isn't automatically bad news for you as a client. Firms restructure, wind down solvently, or get absorbed into a group for entirely ordinary commercial reasons that have nothing to do with client harm. Others fail because the business genuinely couldn't continue, and that can leave real exposure. The practical steps are broadly the same either way, but it's worth knowing which kind of event you're dealing with.
A documented example in this market
Formal liquidation happens here, including solvent restructures
Our adviser register records one example. The company that originally operated as RIFT Research and Development entered a members' voluntary liquidation (a solvent wind-up) as part of a 2024-25 group restructure, with a new holding company continuing the business under the RIFT Group name. That's a solvent corporate restructuring, not a business failure. It's included here because it's the same category of formal event, and the first step for a client is the same: check what it means for your claim.
What to retrieve, and why it isn't automatic
Working papers don't transfer to you by default
The technical narrative, cost identification workings, and any HMRC correspondence relating to your claim are generally treated as the company's own material, but that doesn't mean they land in your inbox automatically when a firm closes. In practice you usually need to request them: from the firm if any part of it is still operating, or from the appointed administrator or liquidator if it isn't. It's worth asking early and in writing, because the longer a firm has been wound down, the harder records can be to locate.
Who to actually contact: a Companies House search against the firm's registered name will show its current status and, where one has been appointed, the administrator or liquidator's details. That's usually the fastest, most reliable way to find a live contact when the firm's own phone lines and inbox have gone dead.
If a claim was mid-process when this happened
Someone still has to pick it up
A claim that was filed and is now sitting with HMRC, possibly under an open enquiry, still needs a live point of contact, particularly if the original firm was named as agent on the Additional Information Form (see what that form records). A claim that was still in preparation needs a new adviser to pick up wherever the previous one left off, which is easier with retrieved working papers than without them. Either way, this is usually the point to instruct someone new rather than wait and see. The adviser register lists firms checked against Companies House and published terms.
Decision helper
Alternatives and limitations
If the firm may just have gone quiet
If you're not yet sure whether the firm has actually ceased trading, or it's just gone quiet, check that first. See the adviser has gone quiet for what to look at before assuming a corporate collapse. And once a new adviser is in place, resuming or restarting the claim itself is covered on R&D claim services.
