Mac Supplies sell-off slated as unsporting

The sale of troubled reseller Mac Supplies' assets to Multiple Zones has stirred up a storm of protest from competitors that claim the buyer had an unfair advantage.

On 25 September, Multiple Zones officially acquired the name, database and goodwill of Mac Supplies for an undisclosed sum - believed to be in the region of #65,000 - from holding company Universal Computer Systems, which went into administration owing an estimated #3.5 million (PC Dealer, 23 September).

The purchase followed an interim agreement between the two resellers prior to the appointment of joint administrators Pannell Kerr Forster and Grant Thornton, whereby Multiple Zones would fulfil and ship orders taken by sales people at Mac Supplies.

However, David Sherwood, managing director of Capital Asset Leasing, which approached Grant Thornton with an interest in acquiring the assets, said: 'I am taking advice on whether to take action against Grant Thornton and I will be making a complaint to the Institute of Chartered Accountants.'

Sherwood said he was given limited time to process his offer. He claimed Multiple Zones was given more room to draw up its proposals as it had been in contact with the reseller and administrator since the interim agreement.

Noel Collins, managing director of Type Technologies, was also interested in purchasing the assets.

But he said: 'We will investigate the basis of the deal to see if there are grounds for discussing why our bid was not successful.'

Max Wright, managing director of Multiple Zones, rebuffed claims of preferential treatment and denied he was privy to confidential customer information.

Grant Thornton was unavailable for comment.

See analysis page 10.