The pair also announced jobs have been secured for nearly 70 per cent of the partners and staff of the firm two weeks after it was placed in administration.

McClure Naismith employed 135 people, comprising 26 partners and 109 staff when it entered administration on Friday 28 August, since when 95 staff – 25 partners and 70 staff including four trainees – have now been employed by 19 different businesses, with this total expected to increase during the course of this month.

In addition to those now in new jobs, the joint administrators have retained 13 staff to assist with transitional matters and continue to assist those 27 staff still seeking employment.

Mr MacLennan said: “We are delighted that a large percentage of McClure Naismith partners and staff have been placed with other law firms and businesses, thus ensuring continuity of client service and of employment for more than two thirds of the employees.

“We are very grateful for those businesses that have worked closely with us to agree deals and find solutions in a very short time scale.”

He also said the firm owed about £2 million to creditors including HM Revenue and Customs, suppliers, and its bank when the firm went into administration but that its debts in their entirety would only be known after landlord and employee claims had been resolved.

This process will take months, after which the company’s total debt will probably be “substantially” more than £2m.