What is the administrator's primary role?

• A. To liquidate the company
• B. To prioritize creditor payments first
• C. To rescue the company as a going concern
• D. To appoint a liquidator

Answer: (C)

The key idea here is that the administrator’s main job is to rescue the company as a going concern. When a company is insolvent, the administrator takes control from the directors with the aim of keeping the business running, restructuring debts, renegotiating contracts, and maintaining value in the business so it can continue to operate and preserve jobs where possible. This focus on turning the business around or stabilizing it as a viable entity is what matters most, rather than liquidating assets immediately.

If rescuing the business as a going concern isn’t possible, the administrator’s objective then shifts to achieving a better result for creditors as a whole than would be obtained by immediate liquidation, which might involve selling the business as a going concern or maximizing value through a orderly disposal. But the primary role remains the rescue of the company as a going concern.

The other options don’t fit because liquidating the company is a potential fallback outcome rather than the initial purpose of administration, prioritizing creditor payments is a consequence of liquidation rather than the immediate aim of administration, and appointing a liquidator is another route associated with liquidation, not the administrator’s principal role.