Money misery

I was intrigued by the latest research from Plimsoll last week, which claims more than a quarter of the UK's top VARs are struggling to balance the books.

According to the research firm, "261 companies in the market are finishing the year in financial difficulty", (always so wonderfully precise, those Plimsoll chaps). But fear not!

Report author David Pattison says: "A number of companies have managed to improve their performance in the latest year. They are part of a band of 460 companies that prove success can still be achieved in the industry, despite difficult trading conditions."

It's not made clear how they've proved themselves. Perhaps he's talking about snaffling a 90 per cent share of the market for smoke-damaged routers in east London. Take it from me - that's a sure sign of a successful year.