Letsbuyit is safe for the time being. It has secured a E53 million ($49.6 million) investment from a consortium of backers.

The flamboyant former hacker Kim Schmitz, who got a load of publicity by suggesting he'd cough up some cash to help the business, is understood not to have put his hand in his pocket this time. He had said he was only interested in backing the business if he could do it alone.

The investment consortium was led by an unnamed financial institution. ®

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