Troubled West Midlands law firm Challinors, which had debts of more than £11million, has finally gone into administration with the loss of 46 jobs.

Attempts to sell the company as a whole have failed, but various parts of the business have been taken on by rivals.

Eight members of the family law team have moved to the Birmingham office of Cartwright King.

Head of family law Fiona Lazenby said the Challinors team would help meet an increased workload in the speciality.

A further eight medical negligence specialists from the Birmingham and Black Country-based outfit have been employed by Shoosmiths.

National firm Clarke Willmott also said it had acquired ‘elements’ of Challinors’ private client and commercial litigation teams, along with 10 members of staff.

Liverpool-based personal injury lawyers SGI Legal had already taken on Challinors’ caseload.

All enquiries at the firm were forwarded to administrator RSM Tenon.

Andrew Hosking and Simon James Bonney, joint administrators, said that to protect clients, all the live client files were transferred to the new firms prior to the administration.

Mr Hosking said: “All possible steps have been and will continue to be taken to minimise the impact of the administration on clients and protect their confidentiality.

"We tried to sell the business as a whole but after limited interest it was clear, the disposal could not be achieved for the appropriate considered value and in the necessary time frames.

“Therefore, regrettably the business had to be broken up into several constituent parts. The sale of the various parts of the business was made pre-appointment.’

It said 13 separate offers had been made for parts of the business.

Challinors, which had 12 partners, owes money to about 250 creditors including almost £500,000 to Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs.

Two ex-clients are also taking legal action against Challinors’ partners, alleging that they are owed a total of £650,000 in loans they made to the firm’s partnership.

A Draft Statement of Affairs for Challinors Solicitors (Partnership) drawn up by KSA Group reveals a list of 250 creditors, both companies and individuals, stretching over more than 20 pages.

The firm’s largest debt is to Allied Irish Bank, which is owed more than £4 million.

The bulk of the debt – £9.3 million – is owed to unsecured creditors with debts to contingent creditors and connected creditors standing at £1 million and £858,707 respectively. Preferential creditors are owed £209,272.

West Bromwich property investment services business Real Estate Investors is listed as both an unsecured and contingent creditor and owed several hundred thousand pounds in total.

The firm owes almost £213,000 in rent to landlord Edmund Propco for its Birmingham city centre office at Edmund House on Newhall Street. Property company Jer Excelsis, which is owed £203,912, is also included on the contingent creditors’ list.

A number of councils on the unsecured creditors’ list include Sandwell Council (£67,824), Birmingham City Council (£6,652), Nottingham City Council (£10,816), Dudley Council (£12,033), Wolverhampton City Council (£6,060) and South Tyneside Borough Council Pension Fund (£488,608).

West Bromwich-based property company Bond Wolfe is also owed £71,855.

Many law firms are also owed money, including solicitors Bray and Bray, Cartwright King and Breydons.

Challinors was set up as Challinor & Roberts in 1948, then merged with West Bromwich firm Lyon Clark in 1996 to form Challinors Lyon Clark.

It has offices in Birmingham, Halesowen, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicester and Long Eaton.