Newbury dealer?s liquidation leaves creditors in the lurch

Creditors of defunct Newbury dealer SCS Computer Sales and its mail-order arm, SCS Direct, have been left out of pocket following the joint liquidation of the two companies, which had combined debts of more than #800,000.

Liquidator Peter Phillips of Buchler Phillips has written to unsecured creditors ? which include a number of distributors ? to say that they will not receive any dividend after the liquidation. According to Phillips, the largest trade creditor is Frontline, which is owed about #235,000. Other trade creditors include Qudis, ETC and Ingram Micro, which are owed #16,751, #19,999 and #1,308 respectively.

It was estimated that the total amount of debts for preferential creditors was #57,760 and that the creditors received a dividend of 86p in the pound. There were no funds left over for unsecured creditors.

SCS Computer Sales and SCS Direct ceased trading and applied for creditors? voluntary liquidation in February 1994 (PC Dealer, 15 February 1994). The last accounts, for the year ended September 1992, showed an #89,000 operating loss on turnover of #1.4 million.

A Buchler Phillips representative said the assets of the two companies had been pooled during the liquidation because it had been impossible to prove which company some of the debts were with.

Although members of the public are understood to have paid cash up front, most managed to get their money back.

Creditors for SCS Direct are owed a total of #641,696; those of SCS Computer sales are owed #182,236. The total debt was #823,932.