Panrix goes into receivership

Systems builder on the verge of being bought

Troubled systems builder Panrix went into administrative receivership this month and was on the verge of being bought for an undisclosed sum.

The Leeds-based company, which was founded in 1990, joins a growing number of channel players that have gone into receivership this year.

Gulberg Panesar, managing director of Panrix, said that the company is expecting to make an announcement this week. "We are trading as normal, all 40 of our staff are working and we are looking to get out of administration as quickly as possible," he said. "We are confident that we will be announcing news of a buyer this week."

Insolvency practitioner Wilson Pitts, which is acting as official receiver, confirmed that it was confident of a quick sale. Julian Pitts, partner at Wilson Pitts, said: "There have been several parties interested in Panrix. We are confident we will sell it quickly."

Pitts added that many firms in the IT sector had been experiencing difficult trading conditions recently and Panrix was no exception.

This year has seen the demise of a number of companies, including hardware distributors VLSI and IMC and Majestic. Several leading US IT companies have issued profit warnings because of tough market conditions.

Eddie Pacey, credit control manager at Ideal Hardware, said the receivership announcement came as no surprise considering the recent state of the market.

"We did good business with Panrix over the years, but began to pull out gradually at the beginning of the year when we felt the tide was turning," he said. However, he believed that the company was bound to make a comeback once a buyer was found.