British payday lender Wonga has collapsed into administration, overwhelmed by a surge in customer compensation claims.
Says a statement: "A decision has been taken to place Wonga Group Limited, WDFC UK Limited, Wonga Worldwide Limited and WDFC Services Limited into administration.
"The boards of these entities have assessed all options regarding the future of the group and have concluded that it is appropriate to place the businesses into administration."
Grant Thornton has been appointed as administrator and will now bid to find a buyer Wonga's £400 million loan book.
Earlier, Wonga had stopped accepting new loan applications as the poster boy for payday lending was plunged into trouble by a government clampdown on the industry which has seen a surge in compensation claims.
Over the weekend it secured £10 million from shareholders to keep afloat but has now called in administrators and held talks with the FCA about the effect of a collapse on the firm's vulnerable customers.
In its own statement, the FCA says: "The FCA will continue to supervise Wonga once it is in administration and is in close contact with the proposed administrators with regard to the fair treatment of customers.
"Customers should continue to make any outstanding payments in the normal way. All existing agreements remain in place and will not be affected by the proposed administration. However, the firm is no longer able to issue new loans."