Evesham Technology goes into administration

Author: Tim Smalley
Published: 6th August 2007
Comments (6) Stumble
Evesham's Chairman, Richard Austin, issued a statement this evening that placed most of the blame on the closure of the Government's HCI scheme, which came at short notice.

Evesham's Chairman, Richard Austin, issued a statement this evening that placed most of the blame on the closure of the Government's HCI scheme, which came at short notice.

On Friday afternoon, Worcestershire-based UK system builder Evesham Technology went into administration. As a result, one hundred and fifty of Evesham’s workforce was made redundant, leaving just 138 employees working for the company.

Richard Austin, Evesham Technology’s Founder and Chairman, issued a statement this afternoon that placed blame on the company’s heavy involvement in the Government’s Home Computing Initiative, which was apparently axed at short notice.

According to Austin, this wiped around £30 million of revenue off Evesham’s turnover and “Other strong companies in the industry were hit hard by the demise of the HCI scheme. Many of these companies have not been fortunate enough to continue trading, resulting in the closure of many established UK companies and a loss of a number of jobs.”

What has given Evesham the funds required to restructure is under a new company GeeMore Technology Ltd, which will continue to trade under the Evesham Technology brand, is a $22 million investment from Dubai-based investment company PCC Technology. PCC is headed by ex-Time Computers honcho and well-known industry investor Tahir Mohsan.

In another statement, Mohsan expressed his confidence in the brand’s potential and said that he will be looking to divest in the medium term. He later added “Evesham is an excellent brand which has always offered a level of service which its customers have grown to love. By funding this restructuring, we intend to allow Evesham to continue delivering excellent products and services to its customers, so it’s business as usual.”

Austin also reaffirmed this in the statement issued this evening “We would like to reassure all of our customers that they will continue to receive support from Evesham and that their existing warranties will continue to be handled with Evesham’s award winning service, as before.”

It’s fair to say that the UK system builder industry has been under strain for some time now, but it’s sad to see a big gun like Evesham suffer serious financial difficulties. You can read the full statement here, and don’t forget to leave your comments in the forums.
Quote DougEdey 6th August 2007, 19:06
Reposting what I wrote in the IB thread:

Holy crap! Didn't see that coming.

Doesn't that include Lowest On Web?
Quote Tim S 6th August 2007, 19:07
Well, it looks like Evesham is focusing on Web and Channel Sales... so I would assume LOW will continue - I'll try and find out. :)
Quote Nexxo 6th August 2007, 20:17
Quote:
Richard Austin, Evesham Technology’s Founder and Chairman, issued a statement this afternoon that placed blame on the company’s heavy involvement in the Government’s Home Computing Initiative, which was apparently axed at short notice.
Crap. Didn't they know better?!? NEVER get business involved in government initiatives, it is sure to bankrupt you!
Quote squeck 6th August 2007, 20:59
A mate who used to work there said that Richard Austin brought in security staff who escorted everyone off the premises (both customers and staff) telling them that they'd lost their jobs as they left. no warning at all!
Quote Hack'n'Slash 7th August 2007, 15:41
Hmmm, I was going to order this TV for my Mum in the next few days or so, maybe I should hold off for a while.
Quote mk-donald 8th August 2007, 22:52
Yeah sad story to see half their workforce biting the dust, presumably all their stores. Had a few bargains from them in the late 80s, but latterly havent been impressed by their TV/Video/Audio range or prices, nor their traditional computer products which didn't seem as VFM as they once were.

For your TV do checkout the 32" at £299 from Ebuyer.com - http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/129440/rb/0 - seems to get good reviews.

Whatever you do - if you have ANY doubts whatsoever about a vendor, be sure to buy anything over £100 on a credit-card so you get automatic protection under S75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 - which gives you the SAME legal rights against the provider of credit as you have against the retailer of the goods (providing it's a retail not business:business transaction). I managed to save £220 that way when an external 5.25" floppy-disk drive [in the early 80s, those were the days!] failed after the vendor had failed - thanks Barclaycard!
Log in

You are not logged in, please login with your forum account below. If you don't already have an account please register to start contributing.





Stats: 0.118 seconds