A person appointed to take control of charged property and to realise it for the benefit of a secured creditor or, in the case of an appointment by the court, to preserve it pending the determination of a dispute. The appointment of a receiver transfers the management and control of the property in receivership from its owner to the receiver, who must deal with it as required by the Receiverships Act 1993 (RA 1993). For the RA 1993 definition of "receiver", see section 2(1) of the RA 1993.

(The RA 1993 has been amended to implement a new licensing and regulation regime for receivers, see the Insolvency Practitioners Regulation Act 2019 and the Insolvency Practitioners Regulation (Amendments) Act 2019. The new licensing and regulation regime commenced on 1 September 2020 (with a one-year transition period for individuals to apply for licensing)).

For more information, see Practice note: overview: Receivership (private appointments): role and position of the receiver.