Actinet forced to call it a day by its creditors

Actinet Computers, the Telford dealer and systems builder, has gone into administration, as the shakeout of small and medium PC assemblers continues to take its toll.

Actinet, which had a turnover of £5 million last year, went into receivership with unsecured debts totalling £716,612, after creditors issued a petition on 10 May, legally obliging the dealer's bank, Barclays, to freeze its account.

Pannel Kerr Forster has been appointed as administrator, with intentions of selling the business as a going concern.

Mustafa Abdul Ali, administration partner at PKF in charge of Actinet, said the priority was to curb the number of claims against Actinet. 'We are trying to deal with as many warranty problems as possible, and are addressing the helpline problem to mitigate further losses.'

According to Abdul Ali, Actinet tried to diversify into the corporate market and training, but left it about six months too late. 'Problems began in the past few months. The business structure changed. Customers left Actinet and started buying from big warehouses and mail-order operations,' he said.

One company has already expressed an interest in buying the Actinet name.

Sources claimed Panrix was a likely candidate. Simon Panesar, sales director at Panrix, refused to comment on Actinet, but said: 'In any competitive situation, we are always keeping an eye on developments in the market.'

Actinet, set up in 1994, started as sole dealer for Mitac Europe, before it branched out into its own-brand operation.

According to Companies House, Susan Margaret Green is listed as director, and John William Clarke as sales director. Clarke is listed as a director of associated company, Computer Trade Sales (CTS), incorporated since May 1998.

Chris Bickerton, managing director of Actinet, is named as secretary of CTS.