Preferential purchase rights in liquidation do not arise for a lessee; company land should be sold by open auction.

A lessee of land owned by a company in liquidation does not have a preferential right to purchase the property or obtain transfer of reversionary rights. The liquidation court must protect the interests of creditors and contributories, and the asset should ordinarily be realised through open auction so that market value is obtained and all interested persons may compete. Before auction, the property's market value should be redetermined to support a fair sale process. Direct transfer on a fixed capitalised value is therefore inappropriate in this context.

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Issues: Whether a lessee of land belonging to a company in liquidation had any preferential right to purchase the property and obtain transfer of the reversionary rights, and whether the property should instead be sold by open auction.

Analysis: After winding up, the assets of the company in liquidation were under the custody of the Court, and the Official Liquidator was required to protect the interests of the creditors and contributories. The applicant, being only a lessee, could not claim any special or preferential right to purchase the land. The appropriate course was to realise the asset through an open auction so that the property fetches market value and all interested persons, including the applicant, may participate. The market value was therefore to be redetermined before auction proceedings were initiated.

Conclusion: The applicant had no preferential right to buy the property. The land was directed to be sold through open auction after redetermination of its market value.

Final Conclusion: The application for direct transfer on a fixed capitalised value was rejected in substance, and the Official Liquidator was directed to proceed with auction in accordance with liquidation requirements.

Ratio Decidendi: A lessee of property belonging to a company in liquidation does not acquire a preferential right to purchase the asset, which must ordinarily be realised by open auction to safeguard the interests of creditors and contributories.

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