Can you close a company with an outstanding Bounce Back Loan?

By Ben Davies · Updated 26 September 2026

In practice, no. Your BBL lender is a creditor, and creditors can object to a voluntary strike-off during the two-month Gazette notice period. Even if the company is dissolved without objection, the debt does not disappear — the lender can apply to have the company restored to the register to pursue what it is owed.

What this means

You need to keep the company on the Companies House register and continue meeting your annual filing obligations until the Bounce Back Loan is fully repaid. Letting the company lapse does not help — it just adds late filing penalties on top of the debt.

What you still need to file

While the company remains open, you must file each year:

• Annual accounts with Companies House — FRS 105 micro-entity accounts while the loan is being repaid, dormant accounts only for a year in which nothing happened to it
• A CT600 with HMRC whenever it sends a notice to deliver one — with no tax to pay if the loan is the company's only activity
• A confirmation statement (CS01) with Companies House

The loan sitting on the books doesn't by itself affect your company's dormant status, but repaying it — from any account — and the interest it builds up do. While it's being repaid, the company files FRS 105 micro-entity accounts rather than dormant ones: see can a company with a Bounce Back Loan be dormant.

After repayment

Once the loan is cleared, you can apply to close the company using form DS01 if you no longer need it — as long as, in the three months before you apply, it hasn't traded, changed its name or done anything beyond winding up its affairs. Or keep it dormant for future use.

For a full breakdown of your obligations and how to keep costs down, see our guide on Bounce Back Loans and dormant companies.