Misco's woes spread to mainland Europe

Spanish arm ceases trading

Following the collapse into administration of its UK arm, Misco has ceased trading in Spain and its website is down in two other European countries, according to a report by CRN sister publication Channelnomics Europe.

Misco UK went bust last October owing creditors £21.8m, less than seven months after undergoing a management buy-in backed by Hilco Capital.

At the time, Misco CEO Alan Cantwell said its businesses in mainland Europe would continue to trade as normal and that their financial structure was "solid".

Despite this, Misco has now given up the ghost in at least one other country, with the Spanish website making it clear that the reseller has stopped trading there. Its Italian and Swedish websites have also been down for more than a week due to "technical issues".

Misco's Italian, Spanish and Swedish arms are relatively small, with annual revenues of €40m, €20m and €20m, respectively, CEO Alan Cantwell told us on the eve of Misco UK's collapse. Its Dutch arm is far bigger, with revenues of €160m.

Misco's losses were not limited to the UK business, with Cantwell telling us last May that the firm was in the red to the tune of £22m at a group level in the year before he and his team took over.

Read the full report here.