LACK of sales and increasing competition in the marquee trade have been blamed for the collapse of a company which took over the business of a 140-year-old Bedale family firm.

Directors of Bedale Canvas Hire, who said the failure was also partly attributable to the under performance of a manager, this week rejected his claim that promised investment had not been forthcoming.

Bedale Canvas Hire, which traded as Clapham Marquees, went into voluntary liquidation on Tuesday with a deficit of £130,000, of which £50,000 was owed to the parent company Clycan Management, an Edinburgh-based specialist in fabric structures.

The collapse after only 12 months affected five full-time jobs and left a trail of unsecured trade creditors, many of them small local companies, out of pocket.

A special meeting in Yarm on Tuesday was attended by only two creditors but one, who was owed almost £2,000, said later: "I am very bitter about not being paid out. I first heard about all this only towards the end of December through the grapevine and then got an official letter from Bedale Canvas Hire as a creditor."

Bedale Canvas Hire was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Clycan, which in January last year bought the stock and business of J R Clapham, one of the oldest companies in Bedale, following the retirement of the last senior partner.

Clycan also embraces marquee firms in Edinburgh and Cheshire.

Mr Gordon Pratt, managing director of Clycan and a director of Bedale Canvas Hire, said on Wednesday that, despite the failure of the business, the parent company still wanted to retain a workforce in the Bedale area and it was hoped that the Clapham name would survive.

Mr Pratt said: "It is very sad that it has had to finish up as it has. There is a good core business out there. We are looking to go forward and employ the workforce. We would look to make sure that the work we pick up would be profitable."

Bedale Canvas Hire began operating from rented premises at a Patrick Brompton garage. An experienced general manager was installed and there were promises that full-time jobs would be protected, the business would be modernised and new customers sought with a more aggressive marketing approach.

Creditors were told, however, that as the season progressed the anticipated repeat business did not materialise and the manager did not perform to expectations.

At the height of the summer Mr Pratt became unwell and was absent from the business for two months. The decline in business resulted in heavy losses and on December 13 trading ceased, with a view to putting Bedale Canvas Hire into liquidation.

Mr Paul Baker, former general manager of Bedale Canvas Hire, left in November to take up a job with another marquee firm which has no connection with his previous employer.

Mr Baker, whose 22 years in the marquee industry have included periods with a traditional company and in the area of corporate hospitality, said: "I would heavily defend the accusation of under performance.

"The work was there, the interest was there and the men were excellent, but investment that was promised never came through."

This was rejected by Mr Pratt, who said investment had included new tents, linings and computerisation of office procedures.