Subocean Group, which fell into administration in January, had debts of more than £37million, it emerged yesterday.
Documents just released by Companies House also show dozens of unsecured creditors were due about £12million of the total, and their return is likely to be less than a penny in the pound.
Westhill-based Subocean, a UK market leader in underwater cable-laying for offshore windpower projects, went into administration after cash-flow problems.
Most of the 380 jobs were saved after it was almost immediately sold on by administrator PwC to French energy service giant Technip for about £10million.
Subocean had been named the second fastest-growing private company in the UK just the month before.
Self-employed contractor Roddy Martin, who is owed £10,000 by the company, said yesterday he did not have high hopes of getting his money.
He added: “I’m feeling bitter because I gave everything to the company and I even turned down another job shortly before they put me on the last job.”
Mr Martin is now working on his croft in Lewis, having failed to secure another contract.
The administrators’ statement said Subocean, whose managing director was John Sinclair, had experienced rapid growth and last August had completed work on a major offshore windfarm project but the customer disputed a bill for about £17million and, as funding pressures mounted, a settlement figure of £6million was accepted.
The group began to experience additional cash-flow difficulties around November as working-capital requirements on other key contracts produced a funding need in excess of agreed banking arrangements.
The administrators said that, as the group relied heavily on leased vessels and other leased equipment, the directors formed the opinion that in the absence of any new equity funding or increased credit it would soon be unable to continue to trade.
A sale was sought as a going concern, but there was no interest in any party in acquiring the business as a whole and taking on all of its liabilities.
Its plant and equipment was subsequently sold for just under £450,000 to Technip, with its intellectual property and goodwill for £1 each.
The administrators said the sale represented the best available offer for the company’s assets following the sale process.
More than £25million is due to floating charge holders – HSBC Bank, HSBC Equipment Finance (UK) and Lloyds TSB Development – which the administrators said would suffer a shortfall on their lending.
A previous company of Mr Sinclair’s also ran into financial problems.
He was managing director of CNS Subsea, which collapsed owing more than £20million in 2005.
A subsidiary, CNS Renewables, which owed a further £2.6million to ordinary creditors and just under £1.4million to Bank of Scotland, was also put into administration eight days later.
CNS Subsea was then sold back to its former boss and two other north-east businessmen; a move that sparked a furious reaction among the failed business’s ordinary creditors.