Torex chief executive ousted in UK

The chief executive of Torex Retail was today ousted four months after he reportedly blew the whistle on alleged accounting irregularities at the software group.

Torex said it had “terminated” the employment of Neil Mitchell after he was suspended from the role at the end of January.

The group’s shares were suspended at the beginning of the year following a profits warning made just a week after the firm boasted of “significant” new business wins.

Torex has since been under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office, which has carried out a series of raids in connection with the Torex case.

Mr Mitchell told newspapers at the time that he had led a “whistleblower” group of executives which had reported the firm to authorities and alerted Torex’s bankers to an alleged accounting hole before the shares suspension.

Mr Mitchell’s departure comes two months after chairman Christopher Moore formally resigned from the board after stepping down on January 31.

Keith Taylor, who has been acting as chief executive, was today officially appointed successor to Mr Mitchell.

The SFO has not made any arrests in its investigation, but has searched a number of residential and business addresses across Oxfordshire, where the company is headquartered, as well as Gloucestershire and Warwickshire.

The company is now reviewing options for the business, including a possible sale, having received “significant expressions of interest”.

Any bid would have to take into account the group’s debt, which is expected to total more than £200m (€295m).

Torex announced in its profits warning earlier this year that delayed contracts had impacted revenues and increased borrowings by some £23m (€34m) more than the £180m (€266m) expected.

Torex secured a £15m (€22m) short-term funding boost in February to help keep it running and has held talks with its bankers in a bid to secure medium and long-term financing.

The company, which makes software for tills and checkouts for retailers such as Tesco and Woolworths, was previously part of troubled NHS software provider iSoft until it demerged from the group in 2004.