Online sales outfit 24/7 Media Europe has closed with the loss of 30 jobs after the failure of a last-ditch rescue attempt by its chief operations officer, Carl White.
The future of the company, which sells advertising space and provides email marketing for a number of clients including Handbag.com, had been in doubt since its US parent suddenly pulled funding four weeks ago.
The US arm pulled out of the European market and also closed its South American offices in order to focus on domestic operations.
Up until this weekend, Mr White was in talks with potential Italian backers in an effort to keep operations going in three European countries, including the UK.
However, they pulled out on Sunday, leaving no option but to wind up the company immediately.
At its height, 24/7 Media Europe had 18 offices in 13 European countries.
The 30 remaining staff in the London office were made redundant yesterday.
"We knew that this was one of the things that could happen," said Mr White.
"It's the nature of the market at the moment. We had a plan of action for three countries and we were very close to pulling it off."
The company is the latest in a round of casualties among online sales operations.
Engage, AvenueA and L90 have all pulled out of the market as ad spend has failed to increase in line with expectations.
MediaGuardian.co.uk special report
