(Bloomberg) -- Administrators to Toucan Energy Holdings 1, a failed owner of dozens of solar farms, have begun a formal sales process for the business, which received hundreds of millions of pounds from a bankrupt English council. 

Interpath Advisory was appointed to handle the administration and sale of Toucan last November, as Thurrock Council in Essex revealed it was owed £692 million ($857 million) by the business. Interpath, which has hired advisers from KPMG to oversee an auction of the 53 sites, is hoping to recover losses through the sale of the farms. 

Jim Tucker, managing director at Interpath, said the administrators have seen early interest from UK and international infrastructure and renewable energy investors and aim to complete the sales process in the second half of this year. Toucan’s pretax operating cash flow was forecast to be £100 million in 2023, he said in a e-mailed statement Wednesday. 

Toucan’s collapse forced Thurrock Council to ask for a government bailout and push up local taxes while cutting vital services. Thurrock borrowed more than £1.1 billion, and its crisis marks the latest financial disaster to hit local authorities in the UK, with councils in Surrey, Croydon in South London and Slough seeking government help. 

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