e-Net Systems forced to call in receiver

Staff may bid to buy some of the company

Oracle and Sun Microsystems reseller e-Net Systems has gone into receivership. The Bristol-based company, which began trading in 1991, was formerly known as Relay Business Systems.

e-Net sold its own suite of business software along with products from Oracle, Sun and Cisco. It also traded as an internet and application service provider. The reseller was wholly-owned by US parent company e-Medsoft.

According to Robert Birchall, official receiver for the company, and partner at the Bristol arm of accountancy and insolvency firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, the remaining staff members may make a bid to buy some of the company, but he declined to give any further details.

"A sale of the business as a whole is highly unlikely, but a sale of part of the business is in the offing. But I cannot comment further on that," he said.

Almost 80 staff members have lost their jobs since e-Net ceased trading earlier this month, leaving just 12 employees at the Bristol offices. According to e-Net's website, the company employed 120 people last year.

For its last set of accounts, e-Net posted turnover of about £25m for the year to March 2000.

"It is still too early to say anything about the settlement for creditors. There will be a return, but it is too soon to say how much," Birchall said.

Nitin Joshi, director at insolvency specialist PKF, said he is representing a group of unsecured creditors against e-Net. "A large number of creditors are dissatisfied over this situation," he said. "A petition has been issued for the winding up of the company by some of my clients, even if it has gone into receivership."

Joshi added that the outcome for unsecured creditors "does not look very promising".

A representative of e-Net Systems said: "The company has gone into receivership. There is no comment to make."