Letsbuyit awakes from coma

But how long can it hold out?

By Kieren McCarthy • Get more from this author

Posted in Business, 25th January 2001 12:01 GMT

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Unbelievable as it may seem, Letsbuyit has found someone daft enough to save it from bankruptcy for a coupla weeks.

Head of the management team - described by the liquidators last week as "deplorable" - John Palmer has persuaded his friend and ex-hacker Kim Schultz to cough up the bulk of the £2.5 million to save the troubled bulk buyer. The rest will come from original backers.

Kim's a big fella (6ft 4in; 19 stone), but you may know him as hacker Kimble who broke into the Pentagon, AT&T and famously reduced Helmut Kohl's credit rating to zero. Whether his business acumen is equivalent to his hacking skills is another matter.

Letsbuyit's shares were re-opened for trading this week and swiftly plummeted to 0.18 euros. The news that the company had found money to stave off bankcruptcy pushed it to 0.24 euros. But then considering they floated at 3.50 euros, this isn't all that impressive.

The managers still reckon that all they need is £25 million before they break even. We reckon they're deluded. But we can't be bothered to go into why yet again.

The question is: now it has woken from its coma, will it take the opportunity to tell friends and family it loves them before slumping and passing away (like in the films) or will it just remain sick but alive and on a life-support machine? ®