Techex asks shareholders for handout

Techex Communications is seeking a cash injection of £250,000 from its investors as the systems integrator attempts to change its name in the face of opposition from namesake company Ciscom.

A source close to Techex said it needed the investment after a loss of £150,000 was discovered in the accounts up to the end of April.

He claimed: 'Costs that had been incurred during one month had been capitalised on and spread over three years. It was borrowing from the future.'

According to a source, Techex appointed Alan Chapman, ex-managing director of Azlan Training, to resolve the accounting problems incurred up to the end of the financial year (PC Dealer, 8 April).

He said: 'This was also the reason for the departure of the old management team. The month-on-month accounts were presented as being more healthy than they actually were.'

Mark Randall, joint managing director of Techex, admitted it was seeking investment from shareholders to grow business.

According to Randall, Techex initially decided to change its name to Siscom following an MBO by parent Techexport, which allowed the spin-off operation to use the name for an agreed period of time, which has now elapsed.

He insisted the name change was legally viable as both companies operated in different markets.

But Iain McTaggart, managing director at reseller Ciscom, said: 'Techex recently said it was moving into the security market and we are in this sector with Cisco. '

Both parties have agreed to sit and discuss the issue to avoid legal action.