Welsh public sector supplier Millennium closes doors after 31 years

IT and AV reseller understood to have called in administrators yesterday

IT and audiovisual reseller Millennium Business Systems (MBS) has gone into administration, apparently following a failed attempt to refinance.

The Wokingham-based VAR, which last year won a place on an £800m Welsh public sector IT framework, turned over £8m in its year ending 31 December 2016.

Reports reached CRN's desk last week that MBS was attempting to raise cash urgently by selling off excess inventory, and had also told staff that it couldn't pay them. The firm did not return our calls last week.

Writing in a LinkedIn post last night, sales director James Baxter said the firm closed its doors yesterday after 31 years in business.

Baxter said a failed MBS attempt left the business "with nothing", and that Millennium had no choice but to call in the administrators after one of the big distributors issued a winding-up order.

"As expected, there is a lot going on at this point but my main concern right now lies with our 40 personnel and their families who, in this festive period just before Christmas, find themselves without work, through absolutely no fault of their own," Baxter wrote.

One distributor source we spoke to, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed that they had been notified that MBS had gone into administration as of 10am yesterday.

"It had been on the ropes for the last week or so. There are quite a few distributors that will feel a bit of pain in terms of what they were exposed to," they said.

MBS' revenues rose by nearly a third to £8m last year, but operating profits were thin at £86,000.

As recently as a week ago, it was still posting on its LinkedIn page with updates on product launches from its vendor partners, including Panasonic and Sharp. As well as acting as a reseller, it was also a PC builder, having secured Local Named OEM status with Microsoft in 2014.

MBS' main switchboard did not appear to be in action this morning.

Update:

Since going to press, a notice in the London Gazette has confirmed that Simon Harris and Ben Woodthorpe of ReSolve Partners, London, were appointed as joint administrators of Millennium Business Systems on 27 November. They can be contacted on 0207 702 9775 or 0207 7702 9775.