And chief executive David Postings has decided to step down from the Birstall-based firm with immediate effect, although he will act as consultant for six weeks to aid with the handover.

Finance director James Corr and chief operating officer and Welcome chairman Ian Cummine are among the sacked senior staff members.

Mark Collins, currently treasury and risk director, is also to leave the company with immediate effect. None of the departing executives will receive any compensation.

Cattles said a number of other employees would face appropriate disciplinary action, following an investigation into its accounts by law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and business advisers Deloitte.

Cattles' shares were temporarily suspended from the stock market in April and just weeks ago the firm asked creditors for more time to deal with its debts as it struggled to meet a looming deadline for £500m on July 14.

Cattles has around £2.4bn of debt, of which bondholders own around £700m. The remainder is held by the bank syndicate.

In a statement Cattles said the board of directors was focusing on working closely with debt providers.

In the last few months Cattles has announced the closure of its Welcome Finance car loans business and that it was considering the sale of its invoice finance arm.

Its main Welcome Finance business remains up and running but has suspended lending to new customers.