call centre operation into liquidation

PEARSE Flynn, the prospective owner of Livingston football club and founder of Damovo, has liquidated the call centre business he bought earlier this year following a rent dispute, and has opened an almost identical operation near Glasgow Airport.
 
Flynn, who is originally from Ireland, took over Glasgow-based Callpoint and its Bath Street call centre operation in January with his company Contact4Partnership.

Earlier this month, Flynn established a new company, Contact4U, at Glasgow Airport Business Park, in a bid to have his business 'make a clean break from the dispute,' a spokesman for Flynn said.

Accounting firm KPMG is understood to have been appointed liquidator. Flynn, who is also a big shareholder in Celtic football club, declined to comment yesterday, but his spokesman said: 'Pearse changed the company name and liquidated the old business to protect the company and its 150 employees.'Some of the employees won't be transferring from Bath Street to the airport business park until after Christmas, but there is no question of job losses.'

A court last month found against Flynn in the dispute with Callpoint Europe, another call centre operator and the former owner of the Bath Street business, over alleged non-payment of rent. Nonetheless, that case is currently under appeal in the Court of Session, and Flynn has continued to contend that Callpoint Europe, which retained a 15% shareholding in Contact4Partnership business, did not honour its agreement to carry out repairs and maintenance to the Bath Street operation.

Callpoint Europe, which also contends that Flynn 'only acquired the trade, goodwill and assets' of the Bath Street business, has disputed the maintenance claim and has also alleged 'consistent failure to pay rent' on the part of Flynn .
The brouhaha also concerns Callpoint Europe's claim that it was responsible for paying rent to landlord Credential Holdings, and that Flynn's company had to pay its rent through Callpoint Europe – a matter complicated further by the Bath Street maintenance issue.

Source: The Herald