Post by Overread on Nov 10, 2012 22:04:55 GMT
It seems there is more info:
privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?128321-Maelstrom-Games-goes-into-liquidation
As well as some more appearing here on pages 30+
www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/464643.page
It appears that Wayland only bought 1/5 of the debt and mainly that owed to Simply Games to help avoid that company going under or hitting hard times (the company which also supplies Wayland and other independent UK retailers). It also seems that Maelstrome were actively pushing assets from Maelstrome into a new company Eye of the Storm (which appears to be the identical same website and also the same warehouse location). It even seems that moving warehouses wasn't even done.
This is also being raised with the fact that Maelstrom were also starting up their own miniatures line which might also have accounted for why they gained near half a million in debts.
Sadly with the asset move Maelstrom the company might only have been left with debts with little to nothing left to gain funds from - that is unless fraud is found to have taken place in the movement of assets from one company to the other. Wayland appears to have been painted in bad light by the Maelstrom comment, yet it seems that they are coming out on top more so with the fact that they at least brought an end to what seems like an ever deepening debt hole (esp for distributors).
Eye of the Storm (their new site) I suspect won't fare well, with bad publicity and with bad reputation with many distributors already.
privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?128321-Maelstrom-Games-goes-into-liquidation
Statement Regarding Maelstrom Games Ltd
On the 1st October we made the difficult decision to assign the debt owed to Simple Miniature Games to Wayland Games Ltd for a nominal fee.
This debt at the point sold stood at just under £100,000 and has been outstanding at that level and higher for over 12 months. This debt built up during a short space of time during the busiest period in our 10 year history just after significant amounts had been paid for other invoices. Promises were made to clear a large portion of the debt within a short space of time but that payment never materialised. A repayment plan was then agreed which should have seen the debt reduced significantly beyond the point that it actually has been. Unfortunately many of these payments were consistently declined and at the last the payments were continually declined.
It was around this point in conjunction with our reading into the accounts of Maelstrom Games that we contacted debt recovery and debt purchase specialists in order to take further action and begin the recovery of assets to cover some the debt.
Demands for the reimbursement of the failed payments and for payment of stock supplied on the 12th September for Maelstrom Games customer orders were completely ignored. As such on October 1st 2012 the debt was sold to the company which offered the best solution, not immediately for us, but for what I considered the best long term solution for our industry in the UK. We chose Wayland Games as they have a vested interest in the hobby and industry and will offer better protection to potential customers, suppliers and manufacturers, other companies would not.
We have continued to trade as normal during the entire period of this debt and continue to order from our suppliers and pay them on time. Maelstrom Games are only one customer out of several dozen and our whole customer base is far, far greater than any one company.
You should understand that Simple Miniature Games have supported Maelstrom through the last year even though we knew they were struggling but with our support they would continue to trade. However there are only so many broken promises that you can listen to and it became perfectly clear that assets of Maelstrom Games were being moved to other companies that had been funded by monies which should have been paid to suppliers including ourselves. There was no way Maelstrom Games could pay the debt and it would appear that steps were being taken to avoid the debts and protect other assets.
This debt has not adversely affected Simple Miniature Games as a company as we can afford to continue to trade with this debt outstanding due to the reliability of our customer base and strong product lines. It has however affected myself and my wife personally as the reserves we have built over 10 years of hard work have had to cover the debt. It was always our intention to use around half of this profit to expand our warehouse and bring in another two or three new ranges including manufacturing our own. However this will now have to wait whilst we consolidate and build up the reserves for our future once again.
On the 1st October we made the difficult decision to assign the debt owed to Simple Miniature Games to Wayland Games Ltd for a nominal fee.
This debt at the point sold stood at just under £100,000 and has been outstanding at that level and higher for over 12 months. This debt built up during a short space of time during the busiest period in our 10 year history just after significant amounts had been paid for other invoices. Promises were made to clear a large portion of the debt within a short space of time but that payment never materialised. A repayment plan was then agreed which should have seen the debt reduced significantly beyond the point that it actually has been. Unfortunately many of these payments were consistently declined and at the last the payments were continually declined.
It was around this point in conjunction with our reading into the accounts of Maelstrom Games that we contacted debt recovery and debt purchase specialists in order to take further action and begin the recovery of assets to cover some the debt.
Demands for the reimbursement of the failed payments and for payment of stock supplied on the 12th September for Maelstrom Games customer orders were completely ignored. As such on October 1st 2012 the debt was sold to the company which offered the best solution, not immediately for us, but for what I considered the best long term solution for our industry in the UK. We chose Wayland Games as they have a vested interest in the hobby and industry and will offer better protection to potential customers, suppliers and manufacturers, other companies would not.
We have continued to trade as normal during the entire period of this debt and continue to order from our suppliers and pay them on time. Maelstrom Games are only one customer out of several dozen and our whole customer base is far, far greater than any one company.
You should understand that Simple Miniature Games have supported Maelstrom through the last year even though we knew they were struggling but with our support they would continue to trade. However there are only so many broken promises that you can listen to and it became perfectly clear that assets of Maelstrom Games were being moved to other companies that had been funded by monies which should have been paid to suppliers including ourselves. There was no way Maelstrom Games could pay the debt and it would appear that steps were being taken to avoid the debts and protect other assets.
This debt has not adversely affected Simple Miniature Games as a company as we can afford to continue to trade with this debt outstanding due to the reliability of our customer base and strong product lines. It has however affected myself and my wife personally as the reserves we have built over 10 years of hard work have had to cover the debt. It was always our intention to use around half of this profit to expand our warehouse and bring in another two or three new ranges including manufacturing our own. However this will now have to wait whilst we consolidate and build up the reserves for our future once again.
As well as some more appearing here on pages 30+
www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/464643.page
It appears that Wayland only bought 1/5 of the debt and mainly that owed to Simply Games to help avoid that company going under or hitting hard times (the company which also supplies Wayland and other independent UK retailers). It also seems that Maelstrome were actively pushing assets from Maelstrome into a new company Eye of the Storm (which appears to be the identical same website and also the same warehouse location). It even seems that moving warehouses wasn't even done.
This is also being raised with the fact that Maelstrom were also starting up their own miniatures line which might also have accounted for why they gained near half a million in debts.
Sadly with the asset move Maelstrom the company might only have been left with debts with little to nothing left to gain funds from - that is unless fraud is found to have taken place in the movement of assets from one company to the other. Wayland appears to have been painted in bad light by the Maelstrom comment, yet it seems that they are coming out on top more so with the fact that they at least brought an end to what seems like an ever deepening debt hole (esp for distributors).
Eye of the Storm (their new site) I suspect won't fare well, with bad publicity and with bad reputation with many distributors already.