'Gang of four' drops to one as WILink plunges into the red

WILink.com, the company which under its old Knutsford name was linked with a takeover of Marks & Spencer or J Sainsbury, announced a £42m loss yesterday and a share consolidation that will mean shareholders with fewer than 250 shares will have their shares bought by the company.

WILink shares, which traded at 270p at the end of 1999, closed unchanged yesterday at 1.75p, valuing the company at £15.7m. Under the 1 for 250 share consolidation investors with 250 shares will receive just £4.30 for a holding worth £675 when the shares peaked.

Knutsford made headlines in late 1999 when a so-called "gang of four" businessmen reversed into a shell company with a view to pulling off a mega-deal in the retail sector.

The four were Archie Norman, Nigel Wray, Nick Leslau and Julian Richer. Mr Norman and Mr Leslau left last year. Yesterday WILink announced Mr Richer, the entrepreneur behind the Richer Sounds hi-fi stores, was also leaving the board. That leaves Mr Wray, who remains as chairman.

As WILink the company is a shadow of its former self. Its main business is the distribution of annual reports to shareholders. It announced an operating loss of £42.3m yesterday, after heavy exceptional charges.

The company issued a profits warning in October saying its business was being affected by the 11 September attacks.

Yesterday it said: "The macro-economic downturn in North America and Europe, especially in the technology and telecoms sectors, led to a reduction in companies listed on most major stock exchanges and caused many existing and prospective clients to reduce their expenditure on investor relations activities."