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Microsoft distie Entatech goes TITSUP

KPMG appointed to pick over bones of Midlands-based biz

The loss of contracts with strategic vendors and the subsequent decline in sales forced components distributor Entatech to call in administrative receivers, The Reg can confirm.

Insolvency practitioners Chris Pole and Mark Orton from KPMG were appointed on 8 May, and now face the task of "exploring" what seem like limited options for an IT generalist that didn’t have scale to compete in the wholesaling big leagues.

“Entatech has been affected by difficult trading conditions for some time,” said Pole in a statement sent to us.

“Following a change in ownership and attempts to restructure the business, the loss of key contracts and declining sales has led to a significant drain on the company’s financial situation. This ultimately led to the directors taking the difficult decision to place it in administration.”

Midlands-based Entatech was founded by Jason Tsai some 25 years ago. He left in 2013, following a legal battle he lost to HMRC over missing trader fraud, AKA the VAT carousel, and sold parts of the company to tech sales veteran Dave Stevinson.

Stevinson tried - with the help of Dabs founder Dave Atherton - to turn around Entatech’s fortunes but was hindered by the loss of its two largest franchises, Fujitsu and Swan. Vendors still on its books included Microsoft and Intel.

Nervousness grew about the future of Enta and credit insurers began to reduce lines in 2016. According to reports, a buyer was sought for the business as recently as 5 May but a deal could not be agreed.

KPMG confirmed it has made 50 staff redundant and retained 29 as it continued to “explore options to sell the business”.

“We are currently reviewing options for Entatech and we would encourage anybody who may be interested to contact the joint administrators as soon as possible,” KPMG added.

Entatech has four divisions selling PC components and gaming; systems and peripherals; software; and networking/ connected home gear. It turned over £103.2m in the year ended 29 February 2016, down 12 per cent on the prior financial year, with losses narrowed to £1.08m from £1.7m.

Stevinson was unavailable to comment. ®

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