As a
legal concept,
administration is a procedure under the
insolvency laws of a number of
common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to
liquidation – is often known as
going into administration. A company in administration is operated by the administrator (as interim chief executive) on behalf of the creditors as a
going concern while options are sought short of liquidation. These options include recapitalising the business, selling the business to new owners, or demerging it into elements that can be sold and closing the remainder.