How a one-letter typo led to the collapse of a 124-year-old family business

A one-letter typo by a government employee caused the collapse of a 124-year-old Welsh family business, Britain's High Court has found.

The British government may now have to pay $17 million in damages.

In February 2009 Companies House, part of Britain's department of business, innovation and skill, mistakenly recorded that the engineering firm Taylor & Sons Ltd was in liquidation, The Telegraph reports.

In fact it was another, unrelated company called Taylor & Son Ltd that had been wound up.

When Companies House tried to correct its mistake a few days later, it was already too late, as the false information had been passed onto credit reference agencies.

The firm lost all 3000 of its suppliers within three weeks as they terminated orders and credit facilities were withdrawn, the court heard.

Philip Davison-Sebry, 57, former managing director and co-owner of Taylor & Sons Ltd, told the court he was holidaying in the Maldives when he first heard about the false news from an anxious client.

"I rang the office to find out what was going on. It was like Armageddon. This was all on the day of my wife's 50th birthday. We will never forget it," he was quoted as saying.

Attempts to reassure customers and suppliers proved futile and the firm, which employed 250 people, was forced into administration.

This week a High Court judge ruled that Companies House was legally responsible for Taylor & Sons' sudden loss of business and ultimate collapse.

The amount of damages Companies House must pay has yet to be finally assessed but Mr Davison-Sebry's lawyers have valued his claim at $16.8 million.