London-based VAR Itopia goes pop

Reseller casualties beginning to pile up as virtualisation specialist enters administration

The reseller body count is beginning to mount up, with desktop virtualisation specialist Itopia Group the latest to hit the wall.

Itopia Group, which was co-founded by serial entrepreneur and Sunday Times Rich List regular Robin Lodge, entered administration on 22 September.

Formed in April 2008, the London-based firm billed itself as a virtualisation specialist and worked with vendors including Kaviza, VMware and Datacore. It recently merged with support and procurement services firm AC Solutions.

News of Itopia's demise comes two months after distributor Computer 2000 issued a petition to wind up the firm, according to a notice in The London Gazette. A hearing was scheduled for yesterday morning.

According to a Companies House document, Robert Arrowsmith, who was the firm's financial director, left the firm on 14 September. Its most recent annual accounts indicate it posted a post-tax loss of about £490,000 for the year to March 2010.

A representative of London-based insolvency practitioner CMB Partners LLP confirmed that Itopia entered administration on Friday and that the case is being handled by Lane Bednash. Further details were unavailable at the time of going to press and the firm could not be reached for comment.

Recent figures from Graydon indicate that channel insolvencies are beginning to rise, with Sony Centre operator Sonex Communications among the recent casualties.