Frozen Bank Balance of a Dissolved UK Company: How to Recover

Every year, thousands of international entrepreneurs log into their Wise Business, Revolut Business, or Barclays accounts only to find their funds completely frozen and access revoked. The automated message explains: 'Your company has been dissolved at Companies House.'

Under English corporate law (Section 1012 of the Companies Act 2006), the exact moment a company is dissolved, all property, rights, and bank balances immediately vest in the Crown as 'Bona Vacantia' (ownerless goods). Commercial banks are legally prohibited from releasing even one penny to former directors without Crown authorization.

The Treasury Solicitor’s Bona Vacantia Division (BVD) administers ownerless property on behalf of the Crown in England and Wales. (For companies registered in Lancashire or Cornwall, jurisdiction falls to the Duchy of Lancaster or Duke of Cornwall).

To unfreeze your corporate bank account, you must petition the Treasury Solicitor for a formal Bona Vacantia Waiver Letter (confirming the Crown waives its claim to your company's assets upon restoration). The Treasury Solicitor charges a statutory fee (typically £300) to review the dossier and issue the waiver.

Once the Bona Vacantia waiver is granted and Companies House approves the administrative restoration, your company is officially restored. You deliver the certified Certificate of Restoration and Gazette notice to your bank compliance department. The bank unfreezes the account and transfers full control back to the restored directors.