Byrom died in 1773, and Sedgwick in 1779, leaving Allen as the sole director.
One of the bank's customers was the firm of Livesey, Hargreaves and Company; Allen was related to the Livesey family by marriage, and made large loans to the company.
[2] Livesey, Hargreaves and Company were the largest calico printers in Lancashire,[3] and was "one of the largest cotton manufacturing enterprises in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution".
[4] They ran factories Preston, Lancashire, a mill at Clitheroe, a coal mine, and premises in Manchester and London.
[4][6] Two days later the bank collapsed, Allen was also declared bankrupt.