Claims management company Barkley Maine Corporation was forced into provisional liquidation last week because it failed to secure a contract with loss adjuster GAB Robins.
The company ran into trouble after it expanded in anticipation of winning the contract which promised to deliver 30,000 to 50,000 claims a year - a massive increase in the company's workload.
The companies are thought to have fallen out in February because of contract details . Negotiations ended in May.
Its core business was maintaining a panel of builders and contractors, whose own contracts guaranteed them reimbursement without work. In the past 18 months, there have been 33 County Court judgments awarded against Barkley Maine Corporation. Company secretary Gerry Meehan admitted that it suffered cash-flow problems because of losing a major contract.
"When these claims failed to materialise capacity outstripped our projections," he said.
"The situation would not have arisen if the 30 to 50,000 claims had been forthcoming."
The company was forced into provisional liquidation after Stephen Byers, Secretary of State for Industry, presented a petition to the High Court to wind up the public interest in Barkley Maine Corporation.
The final hearing will be on October 17. The closure will cause about 50 job losses.
