Westcon claims $870,000 from Touchbase

Employees, tax offices, overseas companies and suppliers lodge claims.

Failed voice and data integrator Touchbase Australia owed Westcon Group nearly $870,000, revealed a statement of claim lodged by administrators to the securities watchdog.   

The distributor was a major creditor to the company trading as Emodite that collapsed earlier this month owing more than $14 million, Australian Securities and Investments documents showed.

Westcon declined to comment.

The minutes of the first creditors' meeting lodged by administrators, Riad Tayeh and David Solomons from deVriesTayeh to the regulator revealed that the debt dated to last October.

And Coote's Legal claimed for unpaid invoices representing Touchbase in matters including one with Avnet Pacific in July.  Distributor Avnet declined to comment.

The administrators found at least 13 former employees claimed about $350,000 in unpaid redundancies, superannuation and salaries. Claims ranged from $3000 to more than $100,000.

The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations told CRN that should Emodite enter liquidation with entitlements unpaid, it will assist eligible former employees under the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme. 

"As creditors of Emodite, former employees can also apply to the Federal Court of Australia to have the company placed into liquidation," a department spokesman said. 

Tax departments in two states and the Australian Tax Office also laid claims. And Emodite's British headquarters, Touchbase group was owed more than $11 million in unpaid company loans, it said.

Touchbase Unified Communications in Britain, Touchbase Global Services in Singapore and Touchbase Singapore claimed a further $1 million in unpaid company loans.

Administrators Tayeh and Solomons were appointed earlier this month. 

The purpose of the creditors meeting in Sydney's western suburb of Parramatta was to determine whether creditors wanted to appoint a committee of creditors, the minutes said. 

No nominations were received and a committee of creditors was not formed. 

The minutes also revealed that no nominations were received to remove the administrators.