Simply Wireless staff, creditors to go home empty-handed

Staff and unsecured creditors have been told they are unlikely to recoup any part of the $1.9 million still owing to them after insolvent wireless integrator Simply Wireless has been wound up.

Alison Davies, marketing director at Deloitte in Sydney, told CRN that the wireless networking provider had entered liquidation, after entering voluntary administration in late July.

Davies confirmed that the creditors had held their second creditors' meeting and decided to liquidate Simply Wireless. However, many outstanding debts could not be paid.

'It is estimated there will not be sufficient assets available to allow a dividend to employees or unsecured creditors,' Davies told CRN.

A creditors' report revealed the reseller had $65,071 in assets but was expected to be $21,829 to $39,829 in debt after liquidation, leaving $70,292 in staff entitlements and $1,202,088 million to unsecured creditors still owing.

The creditors' report said Deloitte liquidators Peter Yates and David Lombe would realise the assets and finish up their investigation of Simply Wireless.

However, the value of the assets was insufficient to meet the cost of administering and winding up the company, and some debts remained outstanding, it said.

The report said Simply Wireless had carried on trading after entering administration until 7 September, with the aim of selling the company as a going concern and getting some money to pay off its debts. The director didn't appear to have enough money to help out either.

Eight companies had made preliminary offers to buy the remaining assets of Simply Wireless. However, none had gone on to make actual bids after learning more about the company's status, the report said.

'No appropriate offer to purchase the business has been received to date and we don't anticipate any to be forthcoming,' it said.

Two companies had shown interest in buying parts of the company's stock and equipment. If the sale fell through, the assets would be auctioned off, the report said.

Desmond O'Geran, the Irish-born CEO of Simply Wireless, was contacted for comment but had not replied at the time of going to press.

An unconfirmed media report had suggested O'Geran may be planning to reconnect with Simply Wireless business contacts made in Dubai and in the middle East on a trade mission earlier this year.

O'Geran told CRN when the company entered administration in July that the news was 'heart-breaking'. The company had basically run out of steam in sight of the finishing post, he said.

At that stage, he had hoped to company would keep trading, because the WAN and WLAN market in which Simply Wireless specialised was tipped to prove a money-spinner over time.

However, O'Geran had been trying to raise capital to fund the company's activity for about 12 months to no avail. Australia was still 24 months behind the US and 18 months behind the UK, which made it harder to prove the business case, O'Geran told CRN.