Liquidators have been appointed to an insolvent island-based financial services firm.

Wilton IoM is being put into voluntary liquidation, having already had its licence revoked by the regulator over ‘serious failings’.

At separate meetings of contributors and creditors on February 12 it was resolved that the company be wound up voluntarily.

Adrian Hyde of Begbies Traynor and Craig Mitchell of CKM Consultants have been appointed joint liquidators and a committee of inspection has been appointed.

Mr Mitchell told the Examiner that it was too early to tell the scale of the debts. He said the statement of affairs listed 16 creditors but that number could increase or reduce.

The joint liquidator said: ‘We are working with the interim receiver and perhaps the directors to understand the financial position of the company.

‘We will be reaching out to creditors at some point to formally file claims in liquidation but there is nothing to stop the creditors coming forward now.’

He said in theory a liquidation of this type should take six to nine months before the company is formally wound up.

An interim receiver was appointed by High Court order on November 21 last year and on January 24 this year Wilton IoM’s licence was revoked by the island’s Financial Services Authority.

The company, which was based at Circular Road in Douglas and before that at Eaglehurst Manor on Belmont Hill, had been licensed to carry out regulated corporate and trust services since January 2009.

In a statement, the FSA said it had been ‘reasonable, appropriate, necessary and proportionate in the circumstances’ to revoke the licence in its entirety following a ‘number of failings within and by Wilton’.

Explaining the decision, the regulator said that the company had been conducting regulated activities without professional indemnity insurance and the interim receiver did not have sufficient funds to pay the required premium or excess to obtain new cover.

At the time its licence was revoked, Wilton ioM had no operational staff except for its two directors. Its financial position had significantly deteriorated and the company was, in the opinion of the court-appointed interim receiver, both cash flow and balance sheet insolvent.

The receiver had been unable to obtain full access to the firm’s records or those of its clients and alleged that its two directors had provided minimal assistance.

A campaign group has been trying to stop Wilton IoM going into liquidation.

It claimed Wilton IoM had acted as a fiduciary and trustee for Hartley Pensions.

The Hartley Pensions campaign group said: ‘We must stop WIoM being liquidated.’ It urged members to help the group ‘face up to those who would otherwise try to prevent the truth from being known.’