Time up for Tiny as company closes

Granville Technology Group, the Lancashire based company that makes Tiny and Time PCs, has been placed into administration and all of its 80 Computer Shop stores have closed. The company has recorded monthly losses of up to £2m since the start of the year, the scale of which meant that it was unable to continue trading.

Granville Technology employs around 1,600 staff, with the majority based in Simonstone, near Burnley. Approximately 1,500 of these jobs will be lost.

Many customers are believed to have paid for goods in recent days that they haven’t yet received. A helpline has been set up to advise customers and creditors: 0870 381 7097.

Granville Technology was the UK’s largest computer manufacturer and approximately two million Tiny and Time PCs are used in UK homes and schools.

Joint administrators, Andrew Hosking, Martin Ellis and Les Ross of Grant Thornton said: “The group has fallen victim to the continued price deflation in the personal computer market”.

The company’s profitability has been adversely affected by a significant decline in PC prices and intense competition from global manufacturers.

According to Grant Thornton, Granville Technology has not filed any accounts since June 2003 when it recorded a £2.5m profit and sales of £207m.