Write-offs put Skillsgroup in red

Training consultancy made losses of £16.3 million after disposal of its desktop business. Lisa Barnett reports.

Lancashire-based training consultancy Skillsgroup has plunged intodisposal of its desktop business. Lisa Barnett reports. the red as the result of a £27.2 million write-off over the sale of its reseller arm to GE Capital.

Skillsgroup finally completed its transition and became a training consultancy at the beginning of the year when it sold off its P&P desktop business to US giant GE Capital for £11.5 million with £15 million debt assumed by the purchaser (PC Dealer, 14 January). The sale came months after negotiations which were first revealed in PC Dealer eight months ago.

Skillsgroup also managed to sell off P&P Sweden for £10.2 million along with the repayment of £3.1 million of debt.

The £27 million write-off of goodwill comes alongside a £705,000 provision for losses on businesses to be disposed of during this year as the company indicated it would sell off the remaining P&P operations, including Belgium and Rentals.

The write-off meant that Skillsgroup turned in a loss of £16.3 million in the year ended 30 November 1997, instead of a pre-tax profit of £14.3 million.

It had a group turnover of £377 million - a jump of £30 million. The group's training businesses, QA and Acuma, made an operating profit of £11 million on turnover of £171 million.

David Southworth, managing director of Skillsgroup, claimed: 'We are more of a threat to our competitors than our competitors are to us.'

Skillsgroup's shares rose to a 1998 record high of 261.5p, recording a 6p increase on 20 February. The previous day the company had experienced an 8p increase.