Formus Broadband has sought investment from a number of telecoms groups, it is believed.

The firm's marketing director, Mr Charlie Ardagh, yesterday attributed its financial difficulty to a downturn in the money and debt markets.

The timeframe in which new investment was required "was not down to days or weeks", he said. The firm required a considerable amount of new money, he added. It had previously raised "hundreds of millions".

Broadnet and Interroute are among those firms understood to be in discussions with Formus.