M & A Rainmaker

Peter MacLean, Chairman of Fox IT Holdings Limited ( well, Chairman when he wants to be and anonymous when he doesn’t ) has delayed the winding up of Fox IT Holdings in order to let the Directors of Fox IT Limited do a Management Buy Out ( MBO ) of Fox IT Limited.  ( see the full Press Release from Fox IT Limited below ). Quite clearly MacLean and Fox IT Management Team Andrew Gray, Mike Darkens and Ashley Bassett have been deep in discussion about how best to extract Fox IT Limited out of a company that MacLean seems determined to put into administration.

This is really interesting ( if it was not so sad !! ). One assumes that Gray, Darkens and Bassett have been running a profitable company ( else why would they want to buy it ?? ) so this means that Fox IT Holdings Limited, which had no creditors – because they were all paid off when LMS Capital plc bought out most of the companies from 365iT plc – has now had a cash injection from the Directors of Fox IT Limited from the MBO. Yet – we understand – it is still to be put into administration ( if it has not already been – as we understand that is now the case ). Perhaps MacLean has taken even more money out of the company to go with the ” repayment of his loan ” that occurred when LMS Capital bought out most of 365iT’s companies ???? Maybe he has taken a consultancy fee for negotiating the sale of Fox IT Limited to it’s Management team ??

The phones have been hot today with people calling about this latest development so more soon !!

Fox IT: Management Buy-Out

Fox IT Limited, the leading independent UK based IT Service Management specialists, has

been the subject of a full and exclusive management buyout with effect from 24th August,

2012. The current management team of Andrew Gray (Finance Director), Mike Darkens

(Consulting Director) and Ashley Bassett (Sales Director) have purchased in full the shares

from the parent company, Fox IT Holdings Limited (formerly 365iT Plc.) and will form the

new board and operational directorship of the business. The acquisition retains all current

operational and delivery UK based staff as well as its global partner network covering 25

countries and 125 accredited Service Management consultants.

Since 1981, Fox IT, formerly Ultracomp, has assisted over 500 organisations and 200000

individuals on their journey to transform IT Services in order to deliver greater business

value through accredited training reinforced with assessment and implementation tools and

services. This management buyout facilitates a strengthening of Fox IT’s core business

focus and portfolio in supporting organisations through all phases of their continual service

improvement journey.

Ashley Bassett commented “I believe this is great news for our Clients, employees and the

ITSM Industry. We’re genuinely excited and confident that the buyout provides the

opportunity for Fox IT to continue being the partner of choice for Service Improvement and

transformation programs. Since its involvement in the inception of ITIL® and ISO/IEC

20000, Fox IT has continually been at the forefront in establishing, the advancement and the

practical application of Service Management best practice through thought leadership,

content provision and service delivery. Whilst continuing to support organisations with their

core training needs a key focus and challenge for the new Board of Directors is to provide

our Clients with practical education, guidance and tools to accelerate the translation of their

significant training investment into tangible business benefits.

The Fox IT brand has already seen a shift from being purely a world leading ITSM training

company to one of supporting our Clients’ service improvement programs providing

consulting and resourcing services, process development tools, bespoke training offerings

and strategic mentoring and guidance for maintaining service quality. Therefore, Fox IT is

well positioned to meet this change in demand. Part of our new mission is to raise the

profile of ITSM to meet and deliver business objectives”

Mike Darkens added “The success of the business is based on the core attributes of our

people, their experience and energy. This has led to the positive results we have delivered

consistently to our clients and through adding to our strong relationships, we can continue

the current trend of business growth.”

ITIL ® is a registered trademark of the Cabinet Office

Dorset based computer and telecommunications provider Poundbury Systems is dominating Google searches for ” Managed Backup Dorset ” by using a combination of the Internet Marketing Ecosystem ( IME, see link below ) and it’s own hosting facilities and National IP network ( also see below ).

Recently, Poundbury Systems launched a Managed Data Backup service from it’s Headquarters in Dorset. As part of it’s promotional campaign Poundbury Systems wanted to ensure that it was found for relevant searches using Google and similar search engines ( Many potential customers use search engines to obtain information about particular products or services).

Poundbury Systems has a WordPress based website and blogsite which is hosted in Poundbury’s Hosting Facilities in London. It is important to understand that these are high performance U.K. Hosting Facilities ensuring that a properly structured web/blogsite has the best chance of achieving a high Google search position for relevant search terms. ( Whilst the exact influence of website hosting performance on Google ranking is debated amongst SEO experts, the fact that it is a factor is not usually debated ).

The first thing to understand about the use of an Internet Marketing Ecosystem is that you must understand what search terms you want to rank for ( this means what would someone type into the Google etc search box in order to find your products or services ). In this case the products, services and therefore search terms are ” Managed Data Backup ” and similar and related words and phrases.

The ” Managed Data Backup ” blog post below was created to complement the web page dedicated to that subject here – http://www.poundbury.com/futureline-assure/ . So this meant that there was relevant content available. The links to the web page and blog post were then distributed via Poundbury’s Twitter, Twylah and Facebook pages ( amongst others ).

I also shared the links via my personal Internet Marketing Ecosystem.

The results are pretty stunning with Poundbury Systems occupying the first 4 natural search results ( this may be subject to a particular persons search results but has been tested by a number of people ) when there are nearly 6.5 Million search results ( roughly equates to people searching on this term ). Other search positions are also occupied by either the Poundbury web/blogsite or elements of my IME e.g. there is a Twylah post appearing.

There is no Pay Per Click payment being made and no ” Black Hat ” SEO techniques have been used. This is simply achieved by understanding what the company wishes to be found for and writing and distributing relevant content. i.e. Content Marketing.

It is anticipated that this particular blog post will be found by people searching on the phrase ” Internet Marketing in Dorset ” or similar and will therefore be of interest to those who might want to use Poundbury System’s excellent Hosting facilities and the Internet Marketing Ecosystem.

Relevant Links:

Internet Marketing Ecosystem link : http://mandarainmaker.co.uk/wordpress/2012/03/12/the-internet-marketing-ecosystem-this-is-the-way-it-is/

Managed Data Backup link : http://www.poundbury.com/poundbury-launches-fully-managed-data-backup-solution-from-dorset/

Poundbury National IP Network link : http://www.poundbury.com/internet-connection-dorset/

As you may know Klout just updated the way that it calculates your Klout score. Those of us that care about Internet Influence scores ( and there are a lot of people who a) Don’t know anything about Internet Influence scores and b) Don’t care about them ) were not looking forward to this day as all previous updates have resulted in a ( sometimes ) dramatic fall in Klout score.

Mashable describes the change in the way that Klout is now grading you here:

http://mashable.com/2012/08/14/klout-update/

The essentials are that “Klout now  puts more weight on who your followers are and how you’re engaging with them.  Klout also now takes into account more of your real-world influence.”

So, given the above and the fact that my Klout score rose from 62 to 70 I have to be pleased with this because it appears to be saying that I am connected with influential people and that we are communicating with one another which is actually what I think is happening. The ” real-world influence ” also appears to have been positive.

I also like the fact that Klout is offering  ”  a look back at your most influential tweets and posts over the past 90 days. ” This provides a summary of who engaged with me and why.

Klout is now saying that ” You’re not influential because of a number. You’re influential because of what you say ( and perhaps do ) .” This is a great way of measuring influence. Klout’s objective now is ( apparently )  “ to make you feel important, and make you feel listened to.”

If you are trying to get your Klout score up then Mashable offers a rundown of some of the factors that play into your ultimate score below:

Facebook
Mentions via tag from other people
Likes
Subscriber count
Posts on your wall
Overall friend count

Twitter
Retweets
Mentions
List memberships
Replies from you to your network
Number of followers

Google+
Comments on your content
+1s
Reshares of your content

LinkedIn
Your job title on LinkedIn
Your connections
Recommendations
Comments

Foursquare
Tips completed – the number of suggestions you’ve left at venues that people have actually completed.

+K
+K from your friends now also plays a role in your score. Previously it only influenced what categories you were thought to be influential in, not how influential you were in general.

Wikipedia
Page Importance
Inlinks to Outlinks ratio
Number of Inlinks

Apart from Wikipedia ( should I write something about myself 😉 I have a substantial presence on all of these networks ( and more ) and I always felt that this was not being taken into account. ( My Klout summary seemed to indicate that only my Twitter and Facebook networks were being analysed ).

This may all be a PR exercise but I have to declare myself  ” satisfied ” with the new measurement and also it seems to me to be taking the right factors into account.

This morning I was talking to a good Twitter friend of mine ( we have not actually known one another for very long ) and I found myself defending a social media related company to her for the SECOND time. The first time it was Twylah.com and the second time it was global professional network Brandergy.com.

She basically said that Social Media networks ( particularly Facebook and Twitter ) were full of fakes, flakes, weirdo’s, liars and creeps and that there was no room in her life for any more social networks ………UNLESS there was a clear benefit. Now, this is a straight talking lady that talks a lot of sense. There was that chink of hope .. UNLESS there was a clear benefit !!

The only network that she thought was ( relatively ) safe AND produced business was Linkedin.

It is interesting that Facebook is suffering from many rumours about ” Fake accounts ” and it’s share price is plummeting  http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/FB whilst Linkedin is seen as a much better bet http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/LNKD . Twitter is still a private company but everyone knows that you can buy Twitter followers for a relatively low price. e.g. http://www.buy-followers.org/ .

I think there is a change coming . People want to network and they want to do business – they just don’t want the hassle that comes with social networking – particularly if it does not actually produce business.

Linkedin is pretty safe but I have noticed a number of connection requests from decidedly flakey looking accounts. So far I have connected to nearly all of them as I am an Open Networker and there is an unwritten agreement that Open Networkers connect to anybody.

Personally I don’t find Linkedin very intuitive, easy to communicate with others or productive from a business point of view. Twitter is my most productive business network and well ahead of both Facebook and Linkedin. I don’t think I have had a single business conversation on Google + despite having an extensive network there and being a Google + Beta user.

Twylah and Brandergy have at least one thing in common – they both have great ” Community Managers ” ( Kelly Kim in the case of Twylah and Vincent Wright in the case of Brandergy ). Community Management does not happen in e.g. Linkedin, Facebook or Twitter – unless you are talking about Group managers. Good ” Community Management ” is a new skill and a hard one to carry out effectively.

I dream of a global, positive, supportive network that actually achieves business for it’s members. I have ” sub networks ” on Twitter and Facebook ( Twitter particularly ) which comprise of ” Internet Influencers ” who are “engaged ” with me and supportive.

However, it is one thing to have a global, positive, influential, engaged and supportive network and entirely another to have that network produce results.

Producing results requires that you step from the virtual world into the real world of actual products and services, phone calls, meetings, presentations, proposals and orders. In other words that you monetise your network.

Where most social networks are focussed on increasing numbers what is required is a social network that has ” barriers to entry ” – a Quality over Quantity network.

I actually had a conversation this afternoon with someone who had joined Brandergy and they were ” worrying ” about who they should introduce into Brandergy themselves. They wanted to maintain the ” Quality ” of the network. This ” elitism ” is what is required to contrast with the ” fakes, flakes, weirdo’s,liars and creeps ” that are on other networks. You want the ” SAS ” or ” Seal Team ” of networkers.

You know pretty instantly when you meet them on other networks. ( I always think it is amazing that people’s character comes across in 140 characters ). They slot into the ” team ” instantly and become part of a well oiled machine.

If you are looking for looking for a New York Experienced Specialist Startup Recruiter who can operate  anywhere in the world but based from the East Coast of America near New York then a social media recruiting phenomenon, Vincent Wright, is looking for a selected number of partners to work with – but if you want Vincent to help you then you are going to have to move FAST !!

I have known Vincent for years – since my first days on my first social network – Ecademy. We have kept in touch over the years and I am amazed that he has found time to make this offer to work with people.

He is the founder and developer of so many social media initiatives like Brandergy.com, MyLinkedinPowerForum, and BrandingVentures.com. He has huge networks on Linkedin. He is also the most experienced New York based Specialist Startup Recruiter that I know.

I have copied Vincents messages to his community on this subject here:

Keep STRONG!!

If you are looking for looking for Sales, Marketing, Administrative, Recruitment or Technology support anywhere in the world but based from the East Coast of America near New York then a social media phenomenon, Vincent Wright, is looking for a selected number of partners to work with – but if you want Vincent to help you then you are going to have to move FAST !!

I have known Vincent for years – since my first days on my first social network – Ecademy. We have kept in touch over the years and I am amazed that he has found time to make this offer to work with people.

He is the founder and developer of so many social media initiatives like Brandergy.com, MyLinkedinPowerForum, and BrandingVentures.com. He has huge networks on Linkedin.

I have copied Vincents messages to his community on this subject here:

Keep STRONG!!

If you are looking for looking for Sales, Marketing, Administrative, Recruitment or Technology support anywhere in the world but based from the East Coast of America near New York then a social media phenomenon, Vincent Wright, is looking for a selected number of partners to work with – but if you want Vincent to help you then you are going to have to move FAST !!

I have know Vincent for years – since my first days on my first social network – Ecademy. We have kept in touch over the years and I am amazed that he has found time to make this offer to work with people.

He is the founder and developer of so many social media initiatives like Brandergy.com, MyLinkedinPowerForum, and BrandingVentures.com. He has huge networks on Linkedin.

I have copied Vincents messages to his community on this subject here:

Keep STRONG!!

Peter MacLean, who recently put Fox IT Holdings into administration ( although he kept his name off all the paperwork ) and is Chairman of the company that trades as 365 IT Services ( http://www.365itservices.co.uk/about/ – the so called trusted IT Partner for British Business – LOL !! ) has a web of Directorships that defies belief but explains quite a bit.

see here http://company-director-check.co.uk/director/915777314 and at the bottom of this blog.

Interestingly – well at least to me – he resigned from the Board of Fox IT Limited in October 2011. It is Fox IT Holding Limited that was put into administration a couple of days ago. 365 ITMS Limited and 365 Technology Limited are still in operation ( to do with 365itservices ) and just look at the 365 IT Subco’s – 365 IT SUBCO No 1 LIMITED and 365 IT SUBCO No 2 LIMITED.

This is the sort of scheming that clients of 365 itservices (  http://www.365itservices.co.uk/about/ ) can expect. 365 Technology Limited and365 ITMS are both registered at Napolean House, the offices of 365iT and the old offices of 5i Limited.

So, it’s really a similar situation to 365 IT where you have subco’s set up just in case of ?????????

Well who knows but probably another planned administration ( creditors and clients beware ) .

The real question of course is how Fox IT Holdings could be put into administration shortly after Peter MacLean took £Millions out of it and when all the creditors were paid off. Source: Leter from Peter MacLean.

Peter MacLean’s Directorships:

Director Summary Peter MacLean has 21 company director or secretary appointments. Short name – Peter MacLean Director ID : 915777314 Year of Birth: 1948 Address Napoleon House Riseley Business Park Riseley Reading United Kingdom RG7 1NW
	Company Summary Company Name Company Status 365 ITMS LIMITED Active NSD HARROGATE LIMITED In Liquidation 365 TECHNOLOGY LIMITED Active FOX IT HOLDING LIMITED Active PHINDA MANAGEMENT LIMITED Active FOX IT LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 24/10/2011) 365 IT SUBCO NO.1 LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 22/09/2011) IMPERA LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 22/09/2011) IMPERADATA LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 22/09/2011) 365 IT SUBCO NO.2 LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 22/09/2011) SECURE NETWORKS UK LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 22/02/2011) NEXTAROMA LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 20/12/2006) EUROCHECK LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 20/12/2006) W. E. L. GROUP LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 20/12/2006) ISG TECHNOLOGY LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 20/12/2006) WEBB ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 20/12/2006) INFORMATION SYSTEMS GROUP LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 20/12/2006) CORPORATE SOLUTIONS GROUP LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 20/12/2006) ISG WEBB EMPLOYEE BENEFIT TRUST LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 20/12/2006) ISG TECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS LIMITED Active (Director Resigned 20/12/2006) GSIG CENTRE LIMITED Dissolved
	365 ITMS LIMITED Appointment Date: 22/09/2011 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: NAPOLEON HOUSE RISELEY BUSINESS PARK READING RG7 1NW GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login NSD HARROGATE LIMITED Appointment Date: 05/11/2008 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: In Liquidation Address: 4 CARTEL BUSINESS CENTRE STROUDLEY ROAD BASINGSTOKE RG24 8FW GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login 365 TECHNOLOGY LIMITED Appointment Date: 21/08/2008 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: NAPOLEAN HOUSE RISELEY BUSINESS PARK, BASINGSTO READING RG7 1NW GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login FOX IT HOLDING LIMITED Appointment Date: 18/03/2005 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: NAPOLEON HOUSE RISELEY BUSINESS PARK, BASINGSTO READING RG7 1NW GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login PHINDA MANAGEMENT LIMITED Appointment Date: 27/02/2001 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: STEVENTON MANOR STEVENTON HAMPSHIRE RG25 3BE GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login FOX IT LIMITED Appointment Date: 29/10/2010 Resignation Date: 24/10/2011 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: CHESTER HOUSE 76-86 CHERTSEY ROAD WOKING GU21 5BJ GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login 365 IT SUBCO NO.1 LIMITED Appointment Date: 09/04/2009 Resignation Date: 22/09/2011 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: NAPOLEON HOUSE RISELEY BUSINESS PARK, BASINGSTO READING RG7 1NW GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login IMPERA LIMITED Appointment Date: 21/08/2008 Resignation Date: 22/09/2011 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: NAPOLEON HOUSE RISELEY BUSINESS PARK, BASINGSTO READING RG7 1NW GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login IMPERADATA LIMITED Appointment Date: 04/08/2008 Resignation Date: 22/09/2011 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: NAPOLEON HOUSE RISELEY BUSINESS PARK, BASINGSTO READING RG7 1NW GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login 365 IT SUBCO NO.2 LIMITED Appointment Date: 04/12/2007 Resignation Date: 22/09/2011 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: NAPOLEON HOUSE RISELEY BUSINESS PARK, BASINGSTO READING RG7 1NW GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login SECURE NETWORKS UK LIMITED Appointment Date: 15/08/2007 Resignation Date: 22/02/2011 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: NAPOLEON HOUSE RISELEY BUSINESS PARK, BASINGSTO READING RG7 1NW GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login NEXTAROMA LIMITED Appointment Date: 20/09/2006 Resignation Date: 20/12/2006 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: ASHMEAD HOUSE EVERSLEY WAY CRABTREE OFFICE VILLAGE EGHAM TW20 8RY GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login EUROCHECK LIMITED Appointment Date: 20/09/2006 Resignation Date: 20/12/2006 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: ASHMEAD HOUSE EVERSLEY WAY CRABTREE OFFICE VILLAGE EGHAM TW20 8RY GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login W. E. L. GROUP LIMITED Appointment Date: 20/09/2006 Resignation Date: 20/12/2006 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: ASHMEAD HOUSE EVERSLEY WAY CRABTREE OFFICE VILLAGE EGHAM TW20 8RY GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login ISG TECHNOLOGY LIMITED Appointment Date: 22/02/2006 Resignation Date: 20/12/2006 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: ASHMEAD HOUSE EVERSLEY WAY CRABTREE OFFICE VILLAGE EGHAM TW20 8RY GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login WEBB ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED Appointment Date: 22/02/2006 Resignation Date: 20/12/2006 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: ASHMEAD HOUSE EVERSLEY WAY CRABTREE OFFICE VILLAGE EGHAM TW20 8RY GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login INFORMATION SYSTEMS GROUP LIMITED Appointment Date: 22/02/2006 Resignation Date: 20/12/2006 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: ASHMEAD HOUSE EVERSLEY WAY CRABTREE OFFICE VILLAGE EGHAM TW208RY TW20 8RY GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login CORPORATE SOLUTIONS GROUP LIMITED Appointment Date: 22/02/2006 Resignation Date: 20/12/2006 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: ASHMEAD HOUSE EVERSLEY WAY CRABTREE OFFICE VILLAGE EGHAM TW20 8RY GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login ISG WEBB EMPLOYEE BENEFIT TRUST LIMITED Appointment Date: 05/01/2006 Resignation Date: 20/12/2006 Position: Director Occupation: Company Director Company Status: Active Address: ASHMEAD HOUSE EVERSLEY WAY CRABTREE OFFICE VILLAGE EGHAM TW20 8RY GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login ISG TECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS LIMITED Appointment Date: 15/03/2005 Resignation Date: 20/12/2006 Position: Director Occupation: Director Company Status: Active Address: ASHMEAD HOUSE EVERSLEY WAY CRABTREE OFFICE VILLAGE EGHAM TW20 8RY GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login GSIG CENTRE LIMITED Appointment Date: 02/01/2004 Position: Director Occupation: Executive Chairman Company Status: Dissolved Address: NORTH HOUSE, 198 HIGH STREET TONBRIDGE KENT TN9 1BE GB Directors and Secretaries Load Officers Company Accounts: To view financial summary login

Peter MacLean used to refer to himself as Chairman of 365iT plc which was the holding company of Fox IT and recently became Fox IT Holdings as part of MacLean’s big plan.  Shareholders in MacLean’s companies are always kept in the dark, unless they are a big shareholder like LMS Capital.

How did Fox IT get to be put into administration at this stage in the game ??? The short answer is that probably MacLean wanted to put it into administration.

MacLean’s name was not on the letter sent out to shareholders of Fox IT Holdings. This is probably because he wants to avoid being seen as the person who first of all sold 365iT Plc’s crown jewels to LMS Capital ( when LMS Capital was not supposed to be buying anything but was going to be split up ) and then shut down Fox IT Holdings and it’s only company Fox IT.

The whole scheme is deliberately very complicated. What readers should most of all take from this is to ensure that they don’t get into any business dealings with MacLean. Don’t invest in any company in which he is involved; sell your company to any company that he is involved in or buy any company that he is involved in. You will not be able to believe anything that is said to you.

At the moment he is hovering around as Chairman of 365 it services ( which is basically owned by LMS Capital and MacLean and run by Peter Howells, former M.D. of 5i Limited ) and is still actually the Chairman of Fox IT Holdings, the owner of Fox IT, although as previously mentioned his name did not appear on the letter to shareholders telling them that Fox It was being put into administration. ( Creditors and partners of Fox IT should note that Fox IT is the only asset owned by Fox IT Holdings ).

So, the story is basically this: After a period when information provided to 365iT plc shareholders reduced to virtually nil they were suddenly told that most of the companies in the 365iT plc group were being sold to LMS Capital. Interestingly it turned out that MacLean was the only one to get paid back out of the money that LMS Capital paid for the 365iT plc companies and that then he put money into the new 365it services group owned by him and LMS Capital. Clearly he and someone at LMS Capital had arranged this deal.

Shareholders were then told that they would be informed about the ” future ” of 365iT plc and it’s only company Fox IT. Now lets bear in mind that 365iT plc was free and clear of all debts so all that was required was for Fox IT to trade profitably for the group to be profitable. But NO !! after a short period MacLean announces that there will be a change of name from 365iT plc to Fox Holdings Limited. ( The sale of the companies to LMS Capital did not, apparently, require the approval of all shareholders but the change of name did ??? ). This seems to be so that the LMS Capital owned company could trade as 365 it services or similar. Then in the last month shareholders were informed that the decision was that Fox IT would be put into adminstration. So a company completely free of debt and profitable suddenly needs to be put into administration. Well, there’s a surprise.

The fact that MacLean’s name is not on any of the paperwork is probably to do with the fact that he does actually realise that there is such a things as a Director’s fiduciary duty. He could well be called to account to explain how and why he sold off the most valuable companies to LMS Capital, netting a pay out to himself and then shut down a profitable company.

Shareholders in Fox IT are in discussion about the details of MacLeans big plan. Watch this space.