Adventi goes into administration

SCOTLAND was dealt a fresh jobs blow yesterday after IT services firm Adventi was plunged into administration with the loss of half its workforce.

Administrators for the Bellshill-based company, and its subsidiaries, Scotsys and Integral Arm, said the business had "encountered cash-flow problems".

The group provided IT consultancy, installation and support services to public and private sector clients and had employed 44 people. Administrators at Price-waterhouseCoopers (PWC) last night confirmed that 22 staff had been made redundant.

Established in 2002, Adventi had been regarded as one of the fastest-growing technology firms in the UK. Last September, Eddie Chance, the former boss of Oracle in Scotland, surprised the technology community by resigning his post as chief executive of Adventi after less than a year at the helm.

Chance moved to the Lanarkshire firm from his job as regional vice-president of the US software giant, and within months had overseen a 600,000 funding deal.

Graham Frost, joint administrator and director at PWC, said yesterday: "(Adventi] has grown successfully over the years and is well-regarded by customers.

"The business had encountered cash-flow problems in recent months and while there were a number of challenges facing the company, the management had been working hard on a restructuring programme.

"Unfortunately, the board have since reluctantly concluded that this path is no longer feasible."

He added: "Our immediate focus will be to review the business and create a new cost and funding structure. With the support of key customers, we hope to trade the business for a period of time whilst a buyer is sought."

The job losses followed Thursday's revelation that more than 110 jobs had been axed at steel contractor Bone Group following the appointment of receivers.

Earlier this week, it emerged that some 230 posts are to go at BASF's pigment plant in Renfrewshire.

The German chemicals giant will cut the jobs over the next two years after deciding that the Paisley site was operating at "very low levels of utilisation".

• Business failures north of the Border fell during the first three months of 2010, figures yesterday suggested.

According to data from credit reference agency Equifax, there were 212 failures in the first quarter, down 13.5 per cent on a year earlier and almost 40 per cent lower than the previous quarter.