The team head Bob Stapleton finally admitted defeat after a summer spent trying to find a sponsor willing to invest up to €10 million (£8 million/$14 million) per year.

He had been in advanced negotiations with a new title sponsor up until Sunday night (July 31), when the deal collapsed.

Further negotiations ensued with HTC, a Taiwanese manufacturer of smartphones, who Stapleton said were not prepared to invest as much as they have done in the team, which -- together with its women's team - is 500 professional victories from only four years of competition.

Under Stapleton's leadership Highroad have been regarded as one of the cleanest teams in the peleton.

"We had an agreement in principle with a new partner, [which] should have given us the necessary funds to operate our team at the same level as we have done for the last four years," said Stapleton.

"This deal collapsed Sunday night, during my wife's 50th birthday party, when I received an e-mail and subsequent phone call from my intended partner.

"In doing our due diligence we uncovered some difficulties that were not resolvable...and the process of asking some very tough questions caused the deal to fall apart.

"We proceeded on our other options, on the most expedited basis possible, and ended those discussions with HTC last night.

"And we then ended our remaining merger scenario, which we believe would not succeed, early this morning."

Stapleton conceded that the negative fall-out from ongoing doping allegations implicating former Tour de France champions Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador had proved an obstacle in negotiations with potential sponsors.

"It's been a factor for everyone we've talked to in the past year," he admitted.

The 26-year-old Cavendish, who won the maillot vert in this year's Tour de France after winning five stages, has long been a target for Team Sky.

The refusal of the Isle of Man rider to sign a new contract when his current one expires at the end of this season may have contributed to HTC-Highroad's difficulty in finding a sponsor.

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