Posting on his personal blog last Sunday, Skelton said Deloitte had advised just before 5pm on Friday that they had been "partially" retired by HSBC as receivers to Skelton Sherborne and handed control of the business back to him.

“I feel like we have just taken the hospital pass from hell with all of this but we are not dead yet,” Skelton said.

However, the company faces a rocky road to recovery as Skelton said he had no access to his company’s bank accounts and had a close-to-empty work pipeline.

“I effectively have no banking facilities; no cash coming in from past work performed nor the benefit of a stamp-duty refund,” Skelton said.

In addition, he feared Skelton Sherborne might have become insolvent as a result of actions taken when the company fell into receivership.

“I should be really happy, as I am largely in control again, but I have been handed back a company that has literally had its heart ripped out,” Skelton said.

Skelton said he was seeking advice on the exact financial position of the company to see whether trading and cargo deliveries could legally resume.

This article first appeared in ILN's sister publication ConstructionIndustryNews.net.