CREDITORS of a collapsed electronics company are sharing an unexpected £30,000 windfall eight years after the business went into administration.

ACW Technology Ltd was restored to the company register so that the money could be handed out before the business was wound up.

Portland Business Recovery said a refund of historical bank charges resulted in £30,000 being due to the company years after it had been dissolved.

The reinstatement of the company meant creditors received the new payout on top of the £620,000 they were paid when the business was liquidated three years ago.

Portland director Nicola Layland said: “This is a slightly unusual scenario.

“Once a company is wound up it is quite rare for surplus funds to become available at a later date, which in this case were not anticipated previously. Once we were aware of the additional funds, we submitted an application to court for the company to be restored to the register.

“We are now able to complete the winding-up of the affairs of this company and are pleased that the team at Portland were able to act quickly and effectively in order distribute these surplus funds to creditors.”

Electronics manufacturer ACW Technology, which had a factory in Hedge End, was the UK subsidiary of the global business ACW International Limited, founded in the UK in 1989 by majority shareholder Christopher Woods.

The business grew organically and by acquiring others.

As demand surged, it opened a factory in China in 2005 to offer low cost manufacturing to its European client base. In 2010, it opened a facility in the US to serve customers in the Americas.

However, it ran into trouble as global competition hit its profit margins, compounded by unavailability of components and problems with suppliers. It was making heavy losses when it was placed into administration in 2012, despite staff cuts and closure of facilities including the Hedge End plant.

Its business and assets were bought through an insolvency procedure by TT Electronics PLC.

Portland said it was always worth reviewing past loans and agreements with banks where significant charges had been made, to see whether any refund was due.