Leading Edge quietly shutters Telstra reseller business

Leading Edge Telecoms, part of the Leading Edge Buying Group, quietly ceased trading in the middle of 2016, CRN can reveal.

The telecommunications business, a major Telstra partner, ceased trading on 8 July 2016 and the group is "still collecting outstanding funds from previous members”, according to a financial report released through corporate regulator ASIC.

The group appointed an unnamed liquidator for the telecoms business on 19 August. The telecoms entity was expected to be wound up in the months that followed.

According to an archived version of the group's website, Leading Edge Telecoms Group once had at least 85 members across the country.

A Telstra spokesperson said the telco continued to work in partnership with many of the stores that had previously come under the Leading Edge Telecoms brand.

“Telstra continues to have relationships with a number of businesses that were formerly part of Leading Edge Telecoms. These include 18 business partners, 25 consumer partners and 2 Telstra Business Centres. Relevant members of our team were involved in assisting a smooth transition,” the spokesperson said.

The decision to close the telecommunications group follows news in 2015 that Leading Edge Group was owed millions following the collapse of six Leading Edge Telecom stores owned by Cap Coast Telecoms in Queensland.

It wasn't the first major insolvency in the Leading Edge Telecoms network. In early 2014, Sadarar Pty Ltd – which traded five Leading Edge Telecoms across rural South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria – went bust, with unsecured debts of more than $500,000.

CRN reported at the time that a well-place source said Leading Edge Telecoms was considering a departure from the segment.

The Leading Edge Group declined to comment.