Administration
The best time to act: systems are live and value can be realised before any move to liquidation.
Insolvency data recovery for practitioners
Recover value from the archive before it’s gone
When a company enters administration or liquidation, its Slack, email and cloud subscriptions often lapse within weeks. We secure the archive, handle the data protection work and turn it into a recovery for creditors.
How long before a company’s data is lost?
Often around four months, and sometimes much less. On a typical Microsoft 365 business plan, an unpaid subscription expires after about 30 days, accounts are disabled until around day 120, and then the data is deleted. Google Workspace, Slack and other providers differ. Once the tenant is deleted, the asset is gone for good.
Day 0
Appointment
Email, chat, CRM and files are all still live and complete.
Day 1–30
Subscriptions unpaid
The subscription expires. Users can usually still sign in during a short grace period.
Day 30–120
Access suspended
User accounts are disabled and only admins can reach the data. Recovery gets slower and costs more.
Day 120+
Data deleted
The provider’s retention period ends and the archive is erased for good.
Timings shown are for a typical Microsoft 365 business subscription. Google Workspace, Slack and other providers differ, and some act faster.
How does Sterling Data work with insolvency practitioners?
You stay in control of the asset and we do the technical, legal and commercial work. We secure the archive within 48 hours, assess and value it in 2–4 weeks and, with your approval, license it and pay the proceeds directly to the estate. There’s no upfront cost to the estate.
- 1
Tell us about the case
The company’s sector, headcount, systems and the date of your appointment. A short call is enough.
Same day - 2
We secure the archive
Read-only preservation of email, chat, documents and system records before access lapses.
Within 48 hours - 3
We assess and value
Rights checks, de-identification and a valuation you can report to creditors.
2–4 weeks - 4
We license and remit
With your approval, we license the dataset and pay the proceeds directly to the estate.
On acceptance
Key facts for officeholders
As of October 2026. Indicative values for operating companies are on our company data valuation page.
| Cost to the estate | No upfront cost |
|---|---|
| Our fee | A success fee from realisations, agreed in writing before work starts |
| Archive secured | Within 48 hours |
| Assessment and valuation | 2–4 weeks |
| Proceeds | Paid directly to the estate account |
| Data protection | The company remains controller, with the officeholder acting on its behalf |
| Reporting | A written summary for your progress reports to creditors |
| Typical deletion window | Around 120 days after non-payment on Microsoft 365 business plans. Other providers differ |
What are the terms for the estate?
Simple terms built around your duties as officeholder: no upfront cost, a success fee from realisations agreed in writing before work starts, proceeds paid directly to the estate account and a written summary for your progress reports. We handle the data protection work, and the company remains the data controller.
- Cost to the estate
- No upfront cost.
- Our fee
- A success fee from realisations, agreed in writing before any work starts.
- Proceeds
- Paid directly to the estate account.
- Data protection
- We handle de-identification, the LIA and the DPIA. The company remains the data controller, with the officeholder acting on its behalf.
- Reporting
- A written summary suitable for your progress reports to creditors.
- Business sales
- Where the business is being sold, we agree with you which records are excluded from the sale.
Which insolvency appointments can you help with?
Administration, creditors’ voluntary liquidation, compulsory liquidation, and pre-packs or business sales where records are excluded from the sale. The best results come from companies with 30 to 500 staff and three or more years of English-language records. The earlier you contact us, ideally before any move to liquidation, the more value we can realise.
Creditors’ voluntary liquidation
Where the archive is often one of the last assets left to realise.
Compulsory liquidation
Working with the appointed liquidator or the Official Receiver.
Pre-packs and business sales
Where records are excluded from the sale and can be realised separately.
Talk to us about a case
Tell us the basics and we’ll come back the same working day with whether the archive is worth securing.
Urgent? Email info@sterlingdata.ai.
Questions from practitioners
Can an insolvent company’s data be licensed?
Often, yes. The appointed insolvency practitioner decides whether the data can be realised as an asset for creditors. We work with the practitioner to secure the archive before subscriptions lapse and handle the data protection work.
When should we get in touch?
As early as possible, ideally at or before appointment and before any move into liquidation. While the company is still trading or in administration, its systems are live, the people who know them are still available and the archive can be realised at full value for creditors.
What if the subscriptions have already lapsed?
Contact us anyway. Some providers keep data for a period after suspension, and it can sometimes be restored.
Do the former directors need to be involved?
Not usually. We work with the officeholder. Where admin credentials or system knowledge sit with former directors or IT staff, we ask the officeholder to request their help, which directors are required to give under section 235 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
How are former employees’ and clients’ details protected?
Names, contact details and other identifiers are removed or replaced before anything is packaged. HR files are excluded, and buyers only see redacted samples before a licence is signed.