SYDNEY, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Australian adult training firm Vocation Ltd VET.AX shut down most of its operations on Monday, its voluntary administrator said, ending a bumpy ride for investors in a company that enjoyed a successful listing in 2013 before encountering a series of difficulties.
Corporate recovery firm Ferrier Hodgson said it was forced to take the step after the company lost customer contracts, its funds dried up and due to "the lack of ongoing support from key stakeholders".
Ferrier Hodgson made the decision just four days after Vocation appointed it. About 150 staff lost their jobs, the administrator said in a statement.
The decision marks an end to what has been one of Australia's swiftest corporate collapses. The company listed in December 2013 with a former federal education minister as its chairman, and in June 2014 its shares were trading over A$3.00 ($2.16), compared with their A$1.89 issue price.
Later that year, the company came under pressure and its shares tumbled after the Department of Education in Victoria state withdrew funding following an audit of two of its subsidiaries. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N0TN5PN
The shares traded under 20 Australian cents throughout 2015 as the company faced several lawsuits including a class action, and were suspended from trading earlier in November as Vocation announced a capital raising.
When that capital raising was unsuccessful the company hired a voluntary administrator. Ferrier Hodgson said it would try to sell the company's intellectual property and one of its operating businesses, the Customer Service Institute of Australia.
($1 = 1.3914 Australian dollars)