Psst, wanna buy a notebook vendor?

Two laptop companies have been advertised for sale this week in the Financial Times. DIP Systems Ltd, trading as Pico Direct, is being sold by London administrative receivers Horwath Clark Whitehill. Up for grabs at the Surrey reseller is: The "PICO" trade mark and Web site; stock of portable computers, spares and components; leasehold premises in Guildford; a back order book worth £300k and the company's distributor operation in Germany. Dip Systems Ltd has annual sales of £20 million. The second advert kept the identity of its seller under wraps. The company was described only as "market leaders in direct and on-line supply of new, 'B' stock, end-of-line and 2nd-user notebooks to corporate accounts". It was said to be looking for a "trade sale to [a] large IT organisation". The company, started 12 months ago, was also advertising its sales as £3 million, with pre-tax profit at £550,000. Interested parties should contact the Robert James Partnership in Middlesex. ®