When Aberystwyth Marina went bust at the end of June, it left 14 small local businesses in mid Wales on the hook for more than £17,000.

But the biggest loser locally by the failure of the facility is Ceredigion County Council.

The council is owed £64,528.22 and is unlikely to ever see a single penny.

A spokesperson for Ceredigion County Council said it would not be commenting but that its officials are communicating with administrators.

There’s slim chance of most creditors getting anything — because the marina, which is valued at a little over £10m, owes £13.5m to a secured creditor, London-based TAB.

That loan was secured against the property on 9 August — just weeks before the Cambrian News carried reports of the impending financial difficulties at the marina.

Staff went unpaid for months, getting limited payments as the financial pressures mounted at the marina.

In a filing by the bankruptcy trustees, no individual staff members are listed as being owed money.

Suppliers, ranging from cleaning companies, to electrical and mechanical service companies, were left on the hook. As well as owing Ceredigion County Council, the marina company stung the Welsh Government for £54,120.59.

From the list of creditors, it’s clear marina directors were switching energy suppliers as bills mounted and they were unable to clear their financial decks. Drax and EDF, were caught by the failing company.

Dwr Cymru, the water supplier, and British Gas were also caught up.

Along with TAB, another finance company — Leeds-based Reward Finance Group — registered a loan of £332,000 against the marina on 14 October 2022.

HMRC, who are owed £186,000, drove the legal process that finally led to the troubled marina collapsing in a sea of red ink.

According to the bankruptcy trustees. TAB and Reward Finance will receive a proportion of the monies they are owed. So too HMRC with its status as a preferential creditor.

That’s leaves everyone else — the unsecured creditors — with the prospect of receiving just pennies on the pounds due, if there’s anything left.

That seems highly unlikely.

The unsecured creditors are due £181,000.

According to the trustees filings, the company had “rarely managed to generate cash to service all its costs. This led to the company building up significant arrears at an operation level.”

The trustees say the company “failed to service the interest on its debt which has been the primary reason behind a succession of refinancings across the group to avoid default.”

The papers show the company failed to submit VAT and corporation tax returns to HMRC for two years.

The papers say bailiffs “attended the site daily” and employees wages went unpaid for two months.

The company entered administration on 30 June, with Switzerland-based Christopher Odling-Smee the sole remaining director.