Financial woe for Memsolve arms

Two subsidiaries of collapsed distributor Memsolve have fallen into receivership following the arrival of administrators at the holding company two weeks ago.

Memsolve fell into administrative receivership with debts of up to #5 million on 11 February (PC Dealer, 17 February). Memsolve's receivers, BDO Stoy Hayward, arrived at PC builder and reseller Goldust and office equipment wholesaler Hexagon Information Technology on 12 February. Both are wholly owned subsidiaries of Memsolve and are registered to Memsolve's premises in Widnes. According to credit rating agency Graydon, former Memsolve directors Robert Leung and Robert Swire are listed as directors of both subsidiaries.

An industry source said: 'It was inevitable that as soon as the holding company went down, it would only be a matter of time before its subsidiaries followed.'

The announcement preceded the placement of an advert in the Financial Times on 16 February by BDO Stoy Hayward, advertising the sale of Memsolve and its subsidiaries, including the trading names of Eagle Direct and Atlantic Systems.

A representative for BDO Stoy Hayward confirmed that it was attempting to sell Memsolve as a going concern. 'We don't release details of the price we are looking for, but I can say that we have had quite a bit of interest,' said the representative.

One source said: 'When you advertise a company as a going concern, it becomes time critical - before long, it will be a gone concern.'

Industry observers expressed doubts about the likelihood of Memsolve and its subsidiaries being sold in its entirety. 'The trouble with the business is that there are very low margins,' said a source.

See news analysis page 10.