However, delays in implementation of IT systems, coupled with lower than anticipated revenues in the final quarter of 2010, led to cash flow pressures.

The company had been in discussions with a number of interested parties to provide the funding required. But, before it could be agreed, it received a winding up petition from the Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Aviva terminated a lucrative glass contract.

Given such a bleak backdrop, the management called in the administrators and the company, which had been in business since 1971, ceased trading.

Auto Windscreens was bought by Aviva in 2005 as part of its acquisition of the RAC in an overall deal worth £1.1 billion.

However, three years later it was sold to Arques Industries - a German business specialising in the restructuring and development of companies. A year later it was sold again, this time to Moguntia, an investment company, before finally ending up in administration.

HMRC said it could not disclose the details behind the winding up order due to “taxpayer confidentiality”, but a spokesman said: “There is little HMRC can do for a business whose viability is dependent on not paying the UK taxes to which they are liable.”

Aviva would not go into details of the contract it cancelled, but said it had secured a deal with Autoglass to handle its customers’ current and future windscreen repair needs.

Like Autoglass, National Mobile Windscreens has been filling the gap left by Auto Windscreens. Martyn Bennett, sales and marketing director, said: “Our volumes have risen by more than 30% over the last two weeks.

“We’ve also had a significant number of engineers from Auto Windscreens contacting us trying to find work. We need to wait to see what happens, but as an organisation we would like to try and provide employment to some of those who have lost their jobs.”