HMRC is chasing Minorplanet for £2 million it claims it is owed. In a statement last week, the firm said: 'Further to the announcement of 22 April 2010, Minorplanet has today obtained an adjournment of the court hearing to execute a winding-up petition against the group's UK trading subsidiary Minorplanet Limited to enable a sale of the UK business to be finalised.

'Discussions remain ongoing and a further announcement will be made in due course.

'The board believes that the group and its other subsidiaries have sufficient funds to meet their immediate financial obligations and can continue to trade during this process.'

According to the Financial Times, the group is putting its UK arm into administration before a sale to a competitor.

Minorplanet Systems plc is quoted on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in the UK and turnover for the year ended August 2009 was £9.7 million. Minorplanet says it employs 170 people in the UK and a further 170 people at its operations in Australia, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands and New Zealand, alongside distribution agreements with partners in France and Italy, and is seeking similar opportunities in Spain and Eastern Europe.