 However behind the scenes, Sandford was financially and mentally strained.He could not raise capital but was unwilling to cede his management to external investors such as John Lysaght Ltd., and although Charles Hoskins and his brother George looked at the plant, they pulled out when they saw the state of the books.The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, which had underwritten the operation, foreclosed on the ironworks on 9 December 1907, although it kept the Blast Furnace running.