Irish software firm Cognotec, a supplier of FX dealing systems to the global banking market, has gone into receivership after its business took a nosedive during the economic downturn.
Kieran Wallace of KPMG in Dublin was appointed as receiver this week by Barclays Bank, which is owed some $9 million from a $12.5 million loan advanced in 2006.
The 19-year old firm employs some 65 people with offices in Dublin, London, New York and Tokyo.
In its annual accounts, which were signed off on December 17, Cognotec Holdings reported that it had slashed its pre-tax losses from $9.9 million in 2007 to $1.76 million in 2008, when turnover exceeded $18.5 million.
The company was also pursuing a major client for breach of covenant after it cancelled a project that accounted for 60% of its revenues.
KPMG's Wallace is looking for a buyer for the company, which claims over 100 deployments of its software in more than 26 countries to major banks and brokers.
At its peak, Cognotec employed 150 people. Its founder and largest shareholder Brian Maccaba achieved considerable notoriety in the red-top press in 2004 when he lost an 'indecent proposal' slander case against a senior rabbi over alleged sexual slurs.