Kelway lands Elcom in consolidation onslaught
Industry sad to see the demise of Elcom IT as Kelway reveals its consolidator ambitions
Bullish VAR Kelway has kicked off its campaign to be a ‘channel consolidator’ after snapping up the assets of fallen reseller Elcom IT.
Elcom IT, which was acquired by a group of private investors last year, fell victim to industry pressure and entered administration last week.
CRN understands the firm folded with debts of between £1.5 and £2m with creditors including Computer 2000, ETC, Ingram Micro and Westcoast. Begbies Traynor was appointed official administrator. Kelway then stepped in as a potential buyer.
Phil Doye, managing director of Kelway said: “We have acquired the assets of Elcom IT Group, which has gone into administration.”
As CRN went to press, Doye said he was travelling to Basingstoke to talk to Elcom IT staff and it was “inappropriate to comment further”.
Last year, Doye told CRN that he was determined to become a ‘consolidating player in the market’ and Kelway was linked to a possible acquisition of Elcom earlier this year.
Elcom’s demise was hailed as a ‘sad day’ by the industry.
Nitin Joshi, founder of advisory service ChannelMoney, said: “Elcom IT has been on the channel landscape for many years. It is a shame that refinancing wasn’t a possibility, but perhaps there should have been more open communication with suppliers.”
Eddie Pacey, director of credit at Bell Micro, said: “It is an extremely sad day to see a business like Elcom go into administration, but it has not come as a surprise.”
Mark Ancell, head of intelligence at credit reference firm Graydon, said: “The directors of Elcom have done everything they can to turn the business around, but ultimately it was down to a lack of revenue and sales.”