It had planned to float on the Alternative Investment Market at the end of July but now says it will not do so until the end of this month or the beginning of September.

A statement read: 'The Board has decided to defer the Admission of the Company to London's Alternative Investment Market until after the holiday season.'

'Although an acceptable level of demand has been secured to date, a number of key investors have asked for a longer period to allow them to reach an investment decision. Since the flotation of the company is not time critical, those requests have been accommodated.'

Last month Begbies said it expected to raise up to £12m from the flotation, but added that it hoped to achieve its core growth objectives with considerably smaller sums.