The blaze at the premises of the TV shopping channel Ideal World broke out in the early evening and fire fighters battled through the night to extinguish the flames.
Shares in the company were suspended as the business fought to recover from the fire which substantially destroyed its TV studios and warehouse.
The drama began on March 6, 2001 and the company was still broadcasting from portable buildings in its car park well into the next year as work to rebuild the premises continued.
Staff had rallied round and working in makeshift studios and offices made sure the business was back on air in three weeks.
The company would not be fully operational again until September 2002.
The business was located in Newark Road, Fengate, and first appeared on TV screens as Ideal World in April 2000.
At its height it employed 615 people and traces its origins to the 1980s when it was a mail order catalogue business founded by city entrepreneurs, Paul Wright and Val Kaye.
Ideal listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in 2000 raising £7.5 million to invest in the business.
From 2011 there were several ownership changes.
In 2022, the business was broken up by Aurelius with Ideal World sold to entrepreneur Hamish Morjaria.
A year later, Ideal was placed in administration and 275 jobs axed.
Joint administrator Michael Lennon blamed changing consumer spending habits and a fall in viewers and customers.
He said “Overall trading was not strong enough for the business to continue in its present format."
13. Ideal World temporary offices
The damaged Ideal World buildings and temporary offices Photo: PT