An insolvency practitioner appointed by a creditor that holds security over the whole (or substantially the whole) of the assets of a company which, as created, was a floating charge. An administrative receiver is authorised to take custody of the charged assets, run the company’s business and dispose of the assets, either piecemeal or as part of the sale of the business as a going concern, to satisfy the secured debt. By section 72A of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986), administrative receivership was effectively abolished as a remedy for all floating charges created on or after 15 September 2003, subject to some important (but limited) exceptions.

The definition of an administrative receiver is contained in section 251 of the IA 1986 which cross-refers to section 29(2) of the IA 1986.