Artemis' Steer boosted from Connaught collapse

'The banks have now refused to supply it with any more credit so it has effectively gone bust,' he added.

Shares in Connaught were suspended last night with some 139 million still in circulation.

In a statement to the Stock Exchange, Connaught said it had been 'continuing discussions with its lenders and other sources of finance with the objective of securing additional funding and a restructuring of the group's financing for the longer term.'

In June the group had warned that it would see its revenues fall by some £80 million in this year alone and that it would make a loss for the year, while it  also expected measures in the Government's emergency budget on 22 June would impact on 31 of its social housing contracts.

A month later its shares fell by almost 70% after the FSA ordered a probe into its finances when it was accused of failing to disclose 'potentially price sensitive information to the market in time'.

Some 10,000 jobs are now at risk.