Pindar Systems was spun-off from Pindar in February 2001, but retained the Pindar name.

Pindar was its biggest client in the UK and Europe for the CMS software used for managing product data in printed and online catalogues.

Pindar Systems had offices in York and Chicago, and the administrator has laid off all but four of the firms 75 staff. Its understood that an attempt to diversify from its core catalogue business led to the 5m turnover companys demise.

Its clients included Oriflame, Grattan, Littlewoods, John Lewis Direct, Office Depot and Eddie Bauer.

Pindar will now seek to re-engage directly with Systems' software clients. Chief executive Andrew Dalton plans to recruit around a dozen new staff to support and develop the software, with the focus very much on catalogues. Its better that we can control it from a relationship and a development point-of-view, he said.

By Jo Francis