The Investor Compensation Company (ICCL) had received just over 2,500 compensation claims from former clients of W&R Morrogh stockbrokers by the claiming deadline yesterday. Mr Bernard Sheridan, ICCL chief operations officer, said most eligible claims had been lodged and he expected the final figure to be confirmed in the first week of January.

Investors who lost money in the collapse of the Cork firm last April had five months to lodge a claim with the ICCL. The maximum compensation entitlement is €20,000 (£15,751), or 90 per cent of the net loss, whichever is the lesser amount. The payout to this group of former clients is expected to be in the region of £3 million (€3.8 million).