Staff Reporter

Administrator KPMG confirmed that there had been a great deal of interest in potential purchasers for the shops including one approach from a foreign player in the mobile comms industry.

KPMG joint administrative receiver John Dare told Mobile News there had been about 60 responses to an advertisement in the financial press offering the Talk! shops for sale.

Dare said it was expected a deal would be tied up before Christmas. But he said it was highly unlikely that any unsecured creditors would get their money back.

TCL was set up in 1984. Despite a turnover of 21 million in the year to June the company ran into trading difficulties and lost its battle with its bank to continue its lending.

The first two products have been targeted at specific markets utilising Siemens GSM handsets and two mini notebook PCs giving business mobile office capability connected to the World Wide Web through a bespoke business services portal.

Initial sales channels will be High Street Retail IT Distribution and mobile phone dealers with a specialist focusing on corporate sales.

European Telecom has posted a pre-tax profit of 1.4 million on turnover of 112 million for the six months to the end of September.

This is a 119 per cent increase over the pre-tax profit of 643000 on turnover of 111 million for the same period in 1998.

The company invested a further 500000 in its Racal joint venture Global Telematics.

The UK sales distribution division increased sales by 30 per cent and gross profit by 137 per cent against the same period last year. Turnover in the export sales division was down by some 30 per cent in the first half of the year but the gross profit contribution was down by only 16 per cent. Over 75 per cent of European Telecoms export turnover is now with European network operators and service providers.

The accessories (Cont P2) division TAG almost doubled its turnover compared with the same period last year resulting in a 53 per cent increase in gross profit contribution. European Telecoms South African subsidiary formed last year made an operating loss.

We have recently re-negotiated our exclusive contract with MTN one of the two South African Network Operators and can now market and sell TAG accessories to the entire South African market said European Telecom chairman and chief executive Warren Hardy.

The ServiceXpress repair business increased turnover by 97 per cent during the period. European Telecom is believed to be looking for a new financial director after the most recent one tendered his resignation last month.

Banner joint managing director Mike Sharpe told Mobile News:

We are in discussions with a company who are interested in buying us.

Weve signed confidentiality and exclusivity agreements up to January 31 which gives them time to do their due diligence and make a firm offer if they are interested.

Avenir became one of the first mobile GSM telephone distributors in 1994 when it opened its first phone shop in Marseilles-Provence airport. It claims to have 33 per cent of the French accessory market.

The Carphone Warehouse also scooped the Best Customer Service award which was presented at a gala black-tie Awards dinner/dance hosted by the UKs top comedian Jim Davidson at the Hilton on Park Lane on March 23 and attended by 1100 guests. (Full results P34 Pictures P36).

The deal is still conditional on the approval of European Telecoms shareholders at an Extraordinary Meeting on May 16.

But as ET chief executive Warren Hardy is a major shareholder (45 per cent) there is not much likelihood of the deal being rejected.

European Telecom is planning to raise 19 million through the issue of 4.8 million new shares of 420p each to pay for the acquisition and provide working capital.

Banner Telecom made sales of 63.1 million pre-tax profits of 1.8 million and as at 29 February 2000 had net assets of 4.5 million.

Banner was approached informally by European Telecom last October. By Christmas the discussions were formal.

Banner Telecom joint managing director Mike Sharpe who owns around 35 per cent of Banner stays on. But co-founder John Gardiner leaves Banner to concentrate full time on developing e-Pay the electronic top-up solutions company which has been approved by One 2 One and Vodafone.

Sharpe told Mobile News:

The time was right to sell. We had a couple of offers on the table. European Telecoms offer made the most sense with the synergy and knowing the company. No redundancies have been discussed as yet. Its likely well have even more opportunities.

Sharpe said a main advantage of the deal was that Banner could now distribute phones from all four networks. (Cont. P2)

Previously it had no direct trading relationship with BTCellnet and Vodafone.

It gives us stronger buying power. We hope to pass those benefits on to the dealer channel. Weve got some big plans for the dealer channel. With ETs backing we can move that forward.

European Telecom chief executive Warren Hardy added:

Since we floated weve made efforts to strengthen our position and develop further value-added services. Weve made a real effort to develop relationships with the PCN operators. From being nowhere we are now the second-fastest growing operator with one of the PCN operators.

We felt if we acquired Banner it would give us the number one position in the UK with PCN GSM and UMTS which will be a specialist retail sale. We now have 20 per cent of the specialist channel in the UK.

Ironically neither European Telecom or Banner had Motorola distribution. Thus the combined company is still unable to officially supply Motorola handsets with Motorolas blessing.

Hardy says :

Not having Motorola has not worried us in the past. We continue to get closer to Motorola but the ball is in their court. We havent been banging on the door. Were not affected by the fact we dont have direct supply.

As there is now a conflict of interest we are unable to let Channel Events exhibit at Mobilexpo said Mobilexpo exhibition director John Stuttard.

We need to ensure that Mobilexpo remains the UKs leading event for the mobile communications trade Stuttard added.

Channel had planned to hype its magazines and events at Mobilexpo which takes place next week at the NEC (May 9-11).

Channels chief executive Richard Hease has now been warned by Reed that anyone working for the company will be stopped from entering Mobilexpo. Hease has been told the Reed ban also applies to anybody handing out his companys magazines or promoting its events within or outside Mobilexpo.

The case is due to be heard in Southport County Court.

Diffins solicitors Brown Turner Compton Carr told Mobile News:

Our client was formerly the sales director of The Phone People plc and it is suggested in your article (April 17) by (Phone People joint MD) Jason Pickthall that (Cont. P2) our client left the company because of pressure concerning sales. Our client was constructively dismissed from his employment as a result of breaches of contract by the company.

Pickthall told Mobile News last month:

The pressure is now on for the sales staff which is why Paul Diffin and (sales director) Martin Carter have left the company.

It is understood there may well be some other changes of personnel at board level at Ora soon.

Ora managing director Ken Edmonds said McLuskies job was always on a temporary basis.

We didnt want to tell staff it was a temporary consultative position because we were going through so many changes. Johns main role was to re-organise the sales department so it could focus on Oras key routes to market. This having been achieved John was offered a position as managing director with an internet company and has chosen to take up this opportunity. He built the wholesale division set all the targets and routines. Rob Musk (exTCL) has now stepped into the chair.

Industry sources suggest Slee was eased out of Dextra after a disagreement with the Caudwell board about meeting sales targets.

It is believed that Slee has consulted lawyers regarding the manner of his departure from Dextra.

A spokesman for the Caudwell Group said:

We can confirm that Richard Slee is not currently involved in the day to day activities of Dextra Accessories Limited. We will be issuing a statement during the course of the next few days to clarify or confirm the position. Slee declined to comment.

One 2 One will work closely with Jaguar Racing to develop (Cont P2) and trial fast wireless mobile data solutions to improve the flow of critical data to or from Jaguars main office systems from anywhere Jaguar are in the world.

The device which will be used is yet to be confirmed though it will be in the form of the next generation PDA and lightweight laptop devices said Andy Haworth head of business development at One 2 Ones Mobile Multimedia division.

One 2 One marketing director Tim Yates added:

Formula One has always been at the leading edge of motor sport technology which then flows into the mass market. This partnership is about working with Jaguar in finding solutions to their communication needs with many of the learnings from the relationship being passed on to our customers.

One 2 One says its Jaguar deal had nothing to do with Oranges decision to spend 70 million on a three-year Arrows F1 sponsorship.