London-based insolvency practitioner Kingston Smith & Partners has been appointed to oversee the sale of the company and its assets.

Ora has a turnover of 3 million a year according to Kingston Smith.

Mobile News understands that its account portfolio had slipped from around 4000 at its height a decade ago to under 50 in 2005.

It lost its high volume accounts with O2 and Orange in March and April this year leaving it with just its distribution ties with the dealer community.

Former Ora sales director Bob Johnson believes that Ora still has a good brand name in the industry and could emerge from receivership.

Johnson said: Ora lost its way and by the end it couldnt be taken seriously by any of the major corporates or any of the significant dealer chains. But there is a good opportunity now for the Ora brand to rise again.

Ajay Gokani managing director of accessories distributor Elite Mobile said: Im not surprised. I knew it was struggling. It lost its O2 and Orange accounts and the only surprise really was that it survived as long as it did.

The market has changed significantly from a couple of years ago. People arent interested in the same kinds of accessories. It is more technology-led now. People are interested in Bluetooth and SatNav and if you dont stock those things the market will pass you by.

Iain Humphrey founder and managing director of accessories distributor Shebang said: It doesnt surprise me that it has gone into administration. I had heard that it has been in trouble for some time. It hadnt got its act together since the last time it went into administration.

Kingston Smith advertised the sale of Acson Limited trading as Ora in the Financial Times on November 29. It was listed as a 3 million turnover business with a well-established UK brand 20000 square foot of leased office space in the Home Counties and a dedicated technical and sales staff.

Ora founder Malcolm Hanson returned to the accessories company in 1998 as interim managing director less than a year after selling it for 20 million to a management consortium.

In 2001 the company went into administration with 21 million of debt before little-known accessory firm Acson bought its brand name and trading assets and installed Oliver as CEO.

This followed parent company Maxon Telecoms decision to sell its radio business to Chongo Information Company last December.

Among those who jumped ship were former head of sales Robert Johnson former senior business account manager Andrew Smart former marketing manager Richard Preece and former type approvals manager Trevor Parrett.

Preece told Mobile News that he decided to quit because the situation had become untenable in the wake of the sale. Maxon Telecom sold Chongo the brand rights to its two-way radios he said.

But Chongo assumed that gave it the assets of the company as well. It was trying to bully us. The situation became really confusing. Chongo went away and found new premises and then tried to hire all 30 of Maxon Europes workforce.

Chongo is solely focused on radio and the nine of us were much more centred on mobiles. In the end 21 people went to Chongo but nine of us decided to start a new company instead.

The new company Mobile Expertise offers two-way radios data modems GSM and CDMA handsets and other communications kit.

We are looking to bring new handsets to the UK and Europe and the rest of the world said Slee. We have a strong pan-European distribution base as well as good ties in Korea.

But Vincent Curley managing partner at VAT consultancy Curley & Co and a former Customs fraud investigator contradicts this.

An internal Customs document from January 2001 talked about applying pressure on banks he said.

In my experience Customs would put pressure on the banks and I would also expect it to point out to the banks their obligations on money-laundering. I know from advising on the mobile industry that main high street banks close down the bank accounts of mobile phone traders without proper explanation.

However an HMRC spokesman said: HMRC is in regular dialogue with the banking sector and shares information on risk trends. At no point would HMRC ever recommend a financial institution cease working with a specific business or sector. Any decision taken by a bank in relation to either the continued operation of accounts or indeed the closure is a matter entirely for the bank and is a commercial decision solely at its discretion.

But Alias Dass senior partner at Dass Solicitors claims that there is evidence to the contrary.

Some traders say bank staff showed them an internal policy document that says that pressure has been put on them by HMRC he said.

Many traders claim to have received letters from UK high street banks issuing them 30 days notice to shut down their business accounts.

HSBC Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest said that each business customer was dealt with on its own merits regardless of the industry it was in.

One of the companies that you spoke to received a letter from us which did mention the word sector said a Bank of Scotland spokesman. We acknowledge that the wording may have been misleading and given the wrong impression. We look at each business on an individual basis. These decisions are not taken lightly. It is not a blanket approach.

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In some cases this has been capped by two-thirds.

The decision to apply the cap was implemented by Vodafone head of indirect sales Richard Hurring. A letter to SPs stated: Any connections that exceed targets will not receive standard bonus payments or discretionary support.

One SP was given a few hours notice that he had to cut his weekly connections by two-thirds.

Vodafones major independent SPs include Yes Telecom Intercity and Aerofone. They met up with Vodafone a month ago at a Heathrow Hotel roadshow to be told to go for growth.

This has come from the top said one source. Vodafone looked at its whole UK operation and found a lot of budgets were over-spent. It hit the last quarter and the books didnt balance. Something had to give.

Vodafone has seen 3 and Orange pull back. The networks went hell for leather in the first nine months but have now put the brakes on.

According to the source the capping is across the board.

You can understand why. If theres no budget theres no budget. The upshot is that every service provider has to do fewer connections yet its still got to support its direct sales teams. The SPs still have their own businesses to run. Their people are all being paid salaries and incur overheads. How can the SPs keep them if they are not allowed to do the business?

Another Vodafone supplier added: In the past SPs would not always get the funding they were after. But they knew they could rely on it. The new era of Vodafone management thought this was old-style thinking. They now want to give the SPs everything they ask for and then deal with the financial implications at six-month intervals. They have turned the partnership relationship into a supplier relationship. The trouble is when Vodafone decides to turn the tap back on its SPs will be doing business with the other networks.

A Vodafone spokesman commented: We have asked our independent service provider partners to work within a budget set between now and the end of the year to avoid the foot-on-foot-off accusation. This gives them a set limit to work towards until the end of the year. During this period we will be talking to them to help them to grow their businesses with Vodafone.

Acson which traded under the Ora name went into administrative receivership after a shareholder suddenly withdrew investment.

Ora CEO Peter Oliver attempted to buy the company out of receivership before MWG made a better offer to insolvency practitioner Kingston Smith & Partners.

Mobile News understands that other parties interested in acquiring Ora included Unique Distribution and The Accessory People among others.

MWG subsidiary Portix will take on Oras trade and assets. Portix managing director Steve Muttram said the acquisition gives the Ora brand and staff a new lease of life. Portix will distribute third-party accessories under the Ora brand through Portix and the other MWG businesses.

We have been looking for a brand through which we can sell third-party accessories said Muttram. Up to now we have sold a lot of third-party accessories but they havent had a brand identity. The motivation behind the acquisition was to revitalise the Ora brand and to sell Ora-branded accessories through existing Ora channels and through the group.

Portix has transferred Oras stock to the MWG warehouse in Manchester and informed clients of the change of address. Ora has 500 existing trading accounts according to Muttram.

They have traded in the past year – though it is difficult to tell whether or not they remain active he said.

Oras sales staff and managerial team have been retained and moved to a smaller premises in Aylesbury though it is unclear whether Oliver will remain.

Sony Ericsson refused to comment but a senior source at a rival manufacturer told Mobile News: It has happened. Its an open secret.

LG Mobile sales director John Barton added: Peter has moved to a Vodafone global role.

Barton suggested that Sony Ericsson might promote from within the company.

He said: Sony Ericsson either hasnt decided what it will do yet or has chosen to replace Peter with somebody already within the company.

Its not possible to give precise figures for the money involved in other similar cases as the status of each case is being reviewed in the light of the ECJs guidance and other action to protect the revenue may be taken. However the tax at stake is certainly not the billions of pounds suggested. At most the tax that would have to be paid back is around 105m. We have written out to the traders involved and given them the following helpline number to discuss their case: 01737 734 510.

The losses to this country have risen from 1.4bn to 1.9bn in the last 12 months. There should now be a public enquiry into their strategy.

Ian Prescott founding partner and director of Bond House said:

For the past three years we have been forced to cease trading after the withdrawal of a VAT refund of 13.2m. Myself and the other business directors and their families have suffered terribly as a result of the Customs actions. It has been a long and painful battle. Customs should never have been able to act in this way.

Orange embarked on an internal process last year to identify dealers and distance resellers that were delivering low-value connections. That process should be completed in the first half of 2006. A cull of low-value connectors will follow.

Orange head of independent retail Chris Hough said: We have paid good money for commissions because we want to reward dealers not consumers. We will strengthen our relationships with the dealers that bring us good value business but we wont hesitate to cull a few that fall below that threshold.

Associate sales director Craig Abraham was Dextras national account manager for Orange. He is understood to have died instantly after a collision with another skier on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old New Zealander joined Dextra two-and-a-half years ago and was on the trip at the Val dIsere with his boss Dextra CEO Mark Ormerod who is said to be distraught over his employees tragic death.

Craig was one of the nicest guys you could have ever of hoped to work with he said. We will all miss Craig desperately at Dextra. His colleagues and friends throughout the Caudwell Group are feeling the loss of a super guy a talented business man a fantastic colleague but most of all a fun-loving guy who would always find time for joke and a chat with anyone in the office.

Mark Squires director of corporate communications at Nokia confirmed that the trip was cut short following the incident and all the delegates flew back to England the following day.

Craigs death is being investigated at the moment – we cannot discuss it until after the post mortem he said. Its been very harrowing for everyone involved. We flew everyone back as soon as we could.

Squires said that Abrahams parents were notified late on Wednesday because of the 12-hour time difference in New Zealand.

The skiing trip is something we do every year with our suppliers just ahead of 3GSM so that we can talk through what will be happening there added Squires.

Meanwhile Abrahams death is being mourned at Caudwells Staffordshire HQ. In an official statement a spokesman said: It is with great sadness that we can confirm the death of Craig Abraham. Our deepest sympathies go out to Craigs family and friends at this difficult time.

One colleague described Abraham as a friendly and popular member of the Dextra workforce.

He was an all round nice guy – the type everyone got on with – and his death has come as a real shock. He will be sorely missed.

Commenting on the tragedy John Caudwell said: Craig was an inspiration to those around him. His professionalism devotion and fun loving approach to work had a positive impact on everyone he met. His popularity and ability to be a good friend as well as a work colleague will be sadly missed.

Abraham leaves behind a partner Helen as well as his mother and two sisters in New Zealand.