Portable reborn after administration blow
Distributor gains new finance to re-emerge as Expo Mobile
In a move that will send shock waves rippling through the channel, mobility distributor Portable entered administration last week.
However, the firm has already gained additional funding and is gearing up to re-emerge as Expo Mobile. Financing for the venture is coming from Manchester-based wireless online retailer eXpansys.
"We will take a stake in Portable if all goes to plan and we will share logistics," said Roger Butterworth, managing director of eXpansys.
Despite the firm emerging as a new entity it still has a licence to use the existing Portable brand. Chantey Vellacott has been named administrator and a meeting of creditors has been set for 29 September.
Steve Muttram, managing director of Portable, admitted that the firm has had a tough summer.
"We had to look at the options available to us, took advice and put the company into administration. Resellers should not notice any change because we will trade again as Portable," he said.
Muttram added that resellers will see a broader offering as the firm uses the additional funding to move into telephony, wireless and wireless-networked PDAs.
Keith Yaxley, director at mobility VAR Data2Hand, said the industry is ripe for consolidation. "Mobile and wireless working is taking off, but the market is crowded. I expect more deals like this one," he said.
Lianne Denness, managing director of memory manufacturer Hypertec, which became a mobile technology distributor just over 10 months ago, said business is good. "We sell through VARs such as Computacenter and SCC and have had a very good start," she said.
Denness added that any deal between Portable and eXpansys is a surprise. "Portable sells through resellers and eXpansys is an e-tailer, so they have very different business models," she said.