On the advice of his accountant, Mat registered a private limited company to conduct his small manufacturing business. The initial shareholders of the company were Mat, his wife Mary, and her father Norm, who each took 1,000 shares in the company, each with a nominal value of £1. The accountant explained that they did not have to pay the full nominal value of the shares at once, so they each paid only 25p per share taken.
Unfortunately the business has not proved successful and Mat and the other shareholders have decided that it is better to liquidate the company rather than run up any more debts. The current situation is that the company's land is worth £20,000 (secured with a £20,000 loan) and it has further assets to the value of £7,750, but it has debts to business creditors of £10,000 and owes the bank a further £10,000 on its bank overdraft.
【论述题】
State the liability of Mat, Mary and Norm in respect of the company's debts