Tough market blamed for Roldec demise

Wolverhampton mail-order company Roldec has crashed into liquidation, leaving creditors with debts of up to #2.5 million.

Directors approached Deloitte & Touche on 16 March to seek a voluntary winding up order. No creditors are believed to be owed more than #100,000 due to Roldec's credit limit recently being cut.

Joe Atkinson, a partner at Deloitte & Touche, said: 'We were instructed to call a meeting for members and creditors to place the company into voluntary liquidation. It will be held on 31 March.'

A Deloitte & Touche representative confirmed that about 50 employees would be made redundant. Roldec's London and Wolverhampton offices have already closed.

One insider summed up the industry reaction: 'We knew it was in trouble, but were surprised at how quickly it went.'

Eddy Pacey, credit manager at Ideal Hardware, said: 'It's difficult for a company that has its main business as system building to survive.

It faced competition from direct companies such as Dell and from the price drops on the high street.'

Paul Berry, managing director of Simply Computers, sympathised with Roldec's plight, citing the aggressive market as the cause of the company's downfall: 'It's a very difficult market, especially for smaller players.'

Auditors had suggested that there was cause for concern in its report on Roldec's latest set of results, submitted to Companies House on 30 April 1997, when its turnover stood just over #10 million.