JDG's fall was a catastrophe
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• The John Dee Group sales prospectus, sent out by receiver Cork Gully last week, reveals the nature of the company's collapse after a dramatic four-year expansion programme.
The prospectus reveals that ex-BRS regional sales director Alan Potter joined the group in 1987 to head an expansion programme designed to create a major European and UK distribution group. That year's turnover was £3.35m, with a pre-tax profit of £140,000.
By 1988, the plan seemed to be working — turnover shot up to over £11m and profits more than quadrupled to £605,000.
But in 1989, despite turning over £28.7m, the group's pretax was £180,000 -only £16,000 more than 1986, when the turnover was £3.3m.
By 1990 — its final trading year — John Dee turned over £35.4m but lost £936,000. Assets at the end of 1989 totalled £1.16rn: in 1990 this fell to £225,000, partly due to a "significant rationalisation programme" launched by Andrew Cowie, who took over as managing director in March of that year after Alan Potter resigned.