The collapse of delivery firm Fastway has left workers and drivers owed millions of euro and hundreds of small firms left scrambling to find other ways to move their stock ahead of Christmas.

Nuvion Group, the parent company of Fastway and Parcel Direct, went into receivership last week, with 300 workers directly affected, and close to 700 subcontractors and franchise delivery workers left in limbo.

Fastway handled 25m parcels annually. Logistically, there are huge fears other delivery companies won’t be able to accommodate thousands of customers seeking order fulfilment ahead of ‘Black Friday’ and Christmas.

Just two years ago, Fastway invested €5m in its depot in Little Island in Cork, the second largest courier base in the country, while it opened a 120,000sq ft facility, in Greenogue Business Park in Rathcoole, Co Dublin.

On Tuesday, one Fastway franchisee working out of Greenogue told the Irish Examiner he is at a loss of up to €250,000, and he had to sell an 18-tonne truck to pay his own staff.

“I had two franchises with Fastway, one independently and one with a colleague,” said Stephen Quigley from Navan. “Financially, this is crippling. With the loss of what I invested – franchises, eight weeks of wages between my employees, what I pay for the delivery runs – I’m down €200,000 to €250,000.”

Mr Quigley had five staff working under him. Two have been let go while he is stuggling to keep the others employed. “I had one 18-tonne truck which I had to sell for cashflow to pay them. The knock-on effect for customers is going to be massive. No one is going to be able to pick up the slack from Fastway.”

Fastway’s direct employees say they must await a 30-day consultation period before claims can be made to the State’s insolvency payments scheme. Contractors and drivers, meanwhile must apply directly for State support as they were not considered Fastway employees.

Third party businesses are also badly affected. Packaging firm Box Depot based in Kylemore Industrial Estate in Dublin provides packaging solutions like eco-friendly boxes and bubble wrap, used for everything from hampers to house moves. Company founder Jerry Reidy has refunded customers whose orders he can’t fulfil as he seeks alternative delivery methods but said the future of the company now looks bleak.

“I had to lay off two staff on Friday as I couldn’t guarantee they’d have any work,” said Mr Reidy. “I also had to stop taking orders online. I had an order from Kerry and had no way to get it down. I have been doing deliveries myself around Dublin but outside Dublin, I can’t get it out.

“I don’t know when I will be able to get back up and running. I have customers who do hampers and gifts, and this time of year is when they do most of their orders. Now, they are being told at the start of November ‘you can’t do any business’.”

Mr Reidy said Fastway was the courier of choice for many small businesses as they accepted “non-conveyable” goods – parcels of irregular sizes – and allowed firms to pre-purchase delivery labels online.

ISME chief executive Neil McDonnell, representing small and medium enterprises, said it has been contacted by “distressed” business owners.

Interpath, the receivers of Nuvion, continues to seek a buyer for the firm, while around 50,000 items were brought to a warehouse in Portarlington to be sorted. That process is expected to take two weeks. Among the items salvaged so far was a wedding dress.

Yesterday, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Ireland held a ‘rapid response’ recruitment open day at the Maldron in Portlaoise, located between the two largest Fastway depots: Cork and Dublin.

ISME called on the receivers to take immediate steps to ensure that goods currently in transit are either delivered to buyers or returned to vendors without delay.

ISME said it has received a huge number of reports from affected businesses across Ireland, including both members and non-members, who do not have clarity as to the status of goods entrusted to the courier service.

Mr McDonnell said: “Practicable steps must be taken to protect innocent third parties. These goods belong to small businesses that are already operating under extreme cost pressures. Resolution of this issue months from now will be far too late for many and could threaten their viability.”