The Salford company, which last week announced plans to raise up to £50m from a stock market flotation, exchanged contracts on a portfolio of 77 houses in Greater Manchester which were in receivership. However, its own deal with the receivers fell through.

A sister company, FS Properties Issler Ltd, exchanged contracts with buyers in the run-up to Christmas and urged several clients to place deposit monies in solicitors' client accounts on the first working day of the New Year - January 4.

Despite this, it then failed to complete its own deal with Deloitte, which was acting as Law of Property Act receivers for the portfolio.

FreshStart Living chief executive Charlie Cunningham said that it failed to complete the deal with receivers as an issue arose over stamp duty payments which made it less attractive.

He added that FreshStart clients who have already exchanged contracts for the properties have either already been paid or will be repaid.

"The only people who have lost money in this is FreshStart Living," he added.

Mr Cunningham, 33, who has joined from London-based corporate broker FinnCap, has expressed his confidence in being able to achieve a stock market flotation of the business this year for a value of up to £50m.

Until last year, Fresh Start Living Ltd and several sister firms were run by Salford businessman Andrew Camilleri.

He resigned in January 2011, and was declared bankrupt shortly afterwards. Companies House records show that the business, once owned by accountant Norman Younger, is now owned by Alan Pierce, a relative of Mr Camilleri.

Presently, Fresh Start Living Ltd and at least 25 other active firms with a Fresh Start Living or FSL Properties prefix are being run by sole director Philip Wright, who was also a director of Salford-based developer Wrightchoice Developments Ltd before it was placed into liquidation last year.

A statement of affairs provided by Mr Wright to liquidators Cooper Williamson shows that it owed £4.2m to creditors - £2.1m to trade creditors, around £686,000 to HMRC and just over £1m to Fresh Start Living Ltd. Pierce was also an Office Holder of Wrightchoice Developments Ltd.

Another connected company is Freshstart Investments Limited, which was previously called Wrightchoice Investments Ltd. This company is also listed as a creditor in the Wrightchoice liquidation to the tune of almost £400,000.

Mr Cunningham told TheBusinessDesk.com that part of his new role "is getting the company and its accounts in shape where it is ready for an IPO".

This will include the creation and filing of new group accounts.

"As it stands, we wouldn't view it as suitable (for flotation), but by the time we've done everything we've planned we think there will be a very compelling case for investors."

Mr Cunningham said that he has floated 50-60 small cap companies on AIM in recent years and is confident about the prospects for FreshStart.

"A lot of people I've spoken to in the City are very interested in this as an investment," he added.

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