Weak E-Force reaches end of the road

By PETER GRIFFIN

Listed e-commerce provider E-Force has been placed in receivership. The company revealed last night that it had been unable to put together a restructuring plan after the closure of its web portal in December that satisfied its banker, HSBC.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed receiver of E-Force and its subsidiaries.

E-Force was formed with high hopes last February as South Island sawmilling group Paynter Timber moved to reinvent itself in cyberspace as a business-to-consumer e-commerce portal.

The portal allowed members to compare the rates of electricity companies and secure magazine subscriptions but never delivered on the range of services promised.

Early last year, chairman Richard Paynter estimated the company would reap first-year revenues of $51 million with estimated pre-tax profit of $2.1 million.

E-Force began shedding management, including founder Mark Fulton, towards the end of last year.

The last to go were directors Warren Bird and Guy Cook. E-Force management and the company's receivers could not be contacted last night. The company's shares closed yesterday at 2c.