New chapter for Entatech as it wipes slate clean with HMRC

Telford-based distributor reaches final settlement with ChangTel liquidator and announces MBO

Entatech has begun a fresh chapter in its history after simultaneously signing a settlement that puts to bed its long-running feud with HMRC, and performing a management buyout.

After months of gruelling negotiations, Entatech this morning reached a full and final settlement with the liquidators of ChangTel, CRN can reveal.

ChangTel was wound up last June after losing a dispute over alleged unpaid VAT with HMRC and was formerly part of Enta UK. Its liquidators had made a claim against it in relation to assets ChangTel had sold to Entatech.

An official statement from Entatech managing director Dave Stevinson agreed by all parties involved in the negotiations with ChangTel's liquidator read as follows:

I can confirm that today the liquidators of Changtel Solutions UK Limited have formally agreed full and final settlement of all and any actions, claims, counterclaims, rights, demands and set-offs that it had against Entatech UK limited.

Stevinson (pictured) said he had been working on securing a settlement since joining Entatech as its managing director last March and described the process as "lengthy, challenging and complex".

"Yet we truly believe the settlement eradicates all uncertainty and has the vital components of affordability and flexibility - enabling Entatech to go forwards with purpose and confidence," he said.

He added: "I am very relieved, having dedicated a year of my life to this project. It has been a fantastic learning experience, almost like completing a second MBA. As you can imagine, I am highly motivated to start working back in the business and executing on our vision."

At the same time, Entatech has undergone an ownership change, with Stevinson taking full ownership of the Telford-based distributor via Stevinson Capital Limited. The Microsoft, Fujitsu and Corsair distributor was previously owned by Jason Tsai and his family.

Another arm of Enta Group, ISP Entanet, also underwent an ownership change in 2014, performing a £14m MBO backed by private equity house Mobeus.

Entatech, which turned over £120m in its last financial year, has enlisted an influx of new management since Stevinson's arrival, most recently bringing in industry big hitter Alicia Shepherd to spearhead its retail business.

The settlement draws a line once and for all under a dispute with HMRC that dates back several years. Had Changtel's liquidator been successful in obtaining a court order to void the transactions that were the subject of its claims, Entatech's assets would have been "significantly depleted", the distributor admitted in its annual accounts.