The receivers, Deloitte, announced that Beechwood had been sold to Resibuildco, funded by the Cavasinni family business, for an undisclosed sum.

The deal includes the purchase of land, buildings, contracts, intellectual property and copyright.

While the Beechwood brand would be retained by the buyers, Chris Campbell from Deloitte said the three LED companies previously operating under the Beechwood name, owned by millionaire Larry King, would be dissolved, confirming the fears of hundreds of trade creditors collectively owed $23 million.

The administrator, Armstrong Wily, said it was still waiting for Deloitte to disclose the sale figure and was unable to say whether there would be anything left for unsecured creditors once secured creditor BankWest, the receivers and the administrators had been paid.

To complicate matters, one of the largest unsecured creditors appears to be Mr King himself, along with his wife Pamela, through their involvement with a number of related companies.

The administrators are investigating a complex web of transactions made to other related companies by the Kings prior to Beechwood's collapse.

Beechwood's new director, Vic Cavasinni, did not return calls yesterday.

But speaking through Deloitte, he indicated that tradesmen and suppliers hurt by the collapse almost three months ago would be contracted by the new firm.

He also said the Beechwood staff who had not already been made redundant would be retained.

Almost 600 families holding contracts for homes yet to start construction are expected to sign new contracts with Resibuildco, although no guarantees were being given by the company that contract prices would not rise.

The Opposition's spokeswoman for fair trading, Catherine Cusack, said that while the sale came as a relief, questions still remained over why the Office of Fair Trading and the minister, Linda Burney, failed to heed warning signs for more than two years that the company was in trouble.

"Fair Trading failed in their duty to supervise Beechwood's building licenses and failed to test the financial viability of the business," Ms Cusack said.

Ms Burney said the Resibuildco deal had finally provided some direction and resolution for consumers suffering fom the companies' insolvency.

Councils were being asked to expedite development applications for Beechwood victims, and to waive any fees incurred by having to resubmit plans for approval, she said.