Where next for 2e2’s customers?

But Owens believes that customers will be trying to give themselves as many options as possible.

"If 2e2 goes down then there are no employees, nobody there to service those customers at all, so customers will be looking at in-sourcing and alternative supplier options," he said.

The data, meanwhile, if held by 2e2 for a customer, is technically the customers' property, said Owens.

"Therefore when the liquidator takes possession of everything the company has it would have to take steps to return the data of the customers, but the issue here is that it takes time because it may be that 10 or hundreds of customers are looking for the same thing and very few employees or technically qualified staff may be around at the time to ensure the return of that data," he explained.

Owens advised firms to get their data returned now as there are still probably about two-thirds of 2e2 employees who are still employed - around 350 have been made redundant to date.

Those interested in buying...

"Anytime you are buying a company out of administration, the first thing you look at is if their customer base is attractive, which in this case it is. However, there is a lot of risk in that customers either have or may not want to stay with the new provider and that has a significant influence on the price," Owens said.

Last week, FTI Consulting claimed that there had been a "significant number of expressions of interest" in acquiring 2e2, and telecoms solutions provider Daisy Group had emerged as a potential bidder, but the Times reported that after losing out on high-profile customers such as Marks & Spencer, Vodafone, Citigroup and Kellogg, the proposition seemed far less attractive to potential bidders.

"There are decisions around the customer base, whether it can keep hold of them and how many are locked in. If you were the only bidder in town then you could pick up a bargain but apparently there is a lot of interest," concluded Owens.