I.T. company is rescued from financial difficulties
It is some time since the dotcom bubble burst, but the I.T. industry remains vulnerable to financial problems, even in the case of well-established businesses. When Oxfordshire I.T. specialists Hytec Information Systems ran into difficulties, the prospects of all the staff keeping their jobs seemed remote. However, thanks to the intervention of Manchester Chartered Accountants and Insolvency Practitioners Clarke Bell, no redundancies were made and all 27 employees have remained in work.
Hytec specialise in designing network and security systems, mainly for the local authority market and including some commercial companies. After 20 years of successful trading, the business went through a difficult period when increasing overheads and shortage of working capital brought its survival into question.
The company's management decided that expert professional advice was needed urgently and called in Clarke Bell, who acted swiftly by placing the business into administration, thereby relieving creditor pressure and allowing time to make new financial arrangements. In due course the assets of the business were acquired by a new company, Hytec Information Security, in a management buy-out.
"Clarke Bell brought clarity to the situation," said Managing Director David Bryant.
"They explained the options available to us and advised us on the best course of action for all our stakeholders - employees, creditors and customers. Clarke Bell's help was crucial in bringing this about."
As well as the staff remaining in work, customers were able to maintain warranty and maintenance agreements, and all pre-paid service contracts will be honoured. Most importantly, the future of a well-established business has been secured.
"Hytec has maintained a good specialist market for its services and it was important to take advantage of that," added John Bell, Senior Partner at Clarke Bell.
"We always try to save jobs in these situations, and in this case the skills and experience of their staff was one of the most important assets to preserve. A solution can usually be found for businesses like Hytec, provided we are called in soon enough."....
