Grant Thornton receivers were called in to the Corby plant hirer last month after the Royal Bank of Scotland cut its overdraft facility.

Ian Carr for insolvency practitioners Grant Thornton has kept a skeleton staff on, after cutting 133 jobs, to help convert property into cash for creditors.

Carr said claims by unsecured creditors will be dealt with by a liquidator when one is appointed, and then only if there is a surplus.

King Sturge Plant and Machinery held the four-day auction which attracted 320 bidders from as far afield as Egypt, Australia, Liberia, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jordan, Greece, Cyprus and Romania.

Among the items sold were a Volvo EC360CL excavator, which fetched more than £81,000, a Caterpillar D6R crawler tractor which went for more than £77,000, a Nooteboom Euro 83-04 extendable plant trailer which also raised over £77,000 and three Volvo A30D articulated dump trucks, each selling for up to £75,000.

King Sturge partner Patrick Ditcham said: “There was strong global bidding, but it’s pleasing that the majority of the lots will remain in the UK.

“Nobody likes to see a company which has been part of the local industry for over three decades go out of business, but what they’ve left behind will be of benefit to a number of firms.”