Former Rock employee stole £220,000 of stock - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 9th May 2008, 18:30

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/05...000-of-stock/1

Rock's former head of sales, Paul Bicknell, stole computers to fund a lifestyle of fast cars and online gambling.

Hg · 9th May 2008, 18:33

one word 'dick'

M4RTIN · 9th May 2008, 19:23

theres got to be more to it than this. i can understand losing Â£220,000 would cause some serious probblem for them, but to just fold lke this seems a bit much.

MrWillyWonka · 9th May 2008, 19:50

I'm even more surprised that the finance department did not even notice missing money for over two years or if they did why did they not attempt to resolve it sooner!

RTT · 9th May 2008, 19:51

Sounds like just the tip of the iceberg

Atomic · 9th May 2008, 20:27

No wonder they've gone into administration! That's alot of money to loose for any company.

hughwi · 9th May 2008, 21:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atomic

No wonder they've gone into administration! That's alot of money to loose for any company.

Yeah, it is an even larger amount of money to not realise has gone missing over a 2/3 year period!

Glider · 9th May 2008, 21:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by hughwi

Yeah, it is an even larger amount of money to not realise has gone missing over a 2/3 year period!

It's not like it dissapeared at once... It cumulated over the years I recon... Stealing 200000 at once is noticed by everyone, stealing 1 a day is much more... subtile...

Rum&Coke · 9th May 2008, 21:10

nothing to see here

Cupboard · 9th May 2008, 21:34

If I had anything to do with Rock, I would want to wring his neck at the moment.
Its a real shame they have died. On the bright side it does show this guy up and make him look like a right *******.

sotu1 · 9th May 2008, 21:37

there is no way the theft of 200,000 can cause a company to go under. there's more to this, thats a definate

julianmartin · 9th May 2008, 21:46

well actually that is quite possible, if the shareholders first found out about this they would probably bail on the company...no investment = crippled company.

they are probably all asking the same question and wondering how it never got detected, hence their faith in the company gone. quite plausible really...

if their turnover is only 5 million, 200,000 is ALOT in terms of profit.

Ryu_ookami · 9th May 2008, 21:46

How does losing 220,000 over a 2 to 3 year period cause a company that has 5 million pound turn over PER YEAR cause it to go into administration? There's something dodgy there, no two ways about it.

Especially when 11,000 odd of that is in computers that were stolen but presumably insured.

TheCherub · 9th May 2008, 22:18

Insurance doesn't necessarily pay out that quickly, and cashflow is always a killer in business.

Whilst £200,000 doesn't sound like a lot on roughly £15million turnover (over 3 years), when you consider how tight the margins are in the PC business it isn't actually all that surprising.

docodine · 9th May 2008, 22:59

Rock is that big of a company? I've never seen ads outside of Bit-tech. :?

ChaosDefinesOrder · 9th May 2008, 23:18

Turnover does not equal profit. There may have been a 5M turnover per year, but if the margins are sufficiently tight, that could equate to maybe 1M or maybe even less in yearly profit...

200K is therefore a lot to lose in this sort of circumstance. The main killer, however, seems to have been with the company's credit. Can't secure the parts for a reasonable cost, can't make the profit...

It is a shame that Rock has gone down, but at the same time, gaming notebooks are still very much a niche thing and therefore by its very nature a rather turbulent sector... (possibly going to explain the tight margins)

LordPyrinc · 10th May 2008, 01:11

If the company could miss this level of theft from one of their employees, its no wonder that they are on the rocks. If they can't manage their own assets and employees, then how could they continue to compete in the business world? There is a fine line between knowing what is going on and micro-managing your staff, but seriously, this theft should not have been overlooked.

Tim S · 10th May 2008, 07:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by julianmartin

well actually that is quite possible, if the shareholders first found out about this they would probably bail on the company...no investment = crippled company.

they are probably all asking the same question and wondering how it never got detected, hence their faith in the company gone. quite plausible really...

It's a PLC, so shareholders wouldn't have bailed since there are no 'public' investors.

Tim S · 10th May 2008, 07:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaosDefinesOrder

Turnover does not equal profit. There may have been a 5M turnover per year, but if the margins are sufficiently tight, that could equate to maybe 1M or maybe even less in yearly profit...

200K is therefore a lot to lose in this sort of circumstance. The main killer, however, seems to have been with the company's credit. Can't secure the parts for a reasonable cost, can't make the profit...

It is a shame that Rock has gone down, but at the same time, gaming notebooks are still very much a niche thing and therefore by its very nature a rather turbulent sector... (possibly going to explain the tight margins)

That's very true. Turnover doesn't equal profit and margins are incredibly tight in the IT sector (thanks to people like Dell). The lack of credit will be a killer, but I think there is more to it than just Bicknell's thefts.

phuzz · 10th May 2008, 09:56

I used to work at Evesham Micros and their profit margin was something like 6% on each PC, I'm guessing Rock's wasn't much better.

(just don't ask where half the components in my last pc came from...)

9th May 2008, 18:30	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	Former Rock employee stole £220,000 of stock http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/05...000-of-stock/1 Rock's former head of sales, Paul Bicknell, stole computers to fund a lifestyle of fast cars and online gambling. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

9th May 2008, 18:33	#2
Hg The game known as life Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Stourport, UK Posts: 204	one word 'dick' __________________ LIVE Gamertag: Hg80uk PSN: Hg80uk Showmyfps.com- Whats your FPS? Trident Case mod with custom cooling - Project Log

9th May 2008, 19:50	#4
MrWillyWonka . Moderator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Southampton, Hants Posts: 5,746	I'm even more surprised that the finance department did not even notice missing money for over two years or if they did why did they not attempt to resolve it sooner! __________________ Project Red - HL2 - PSOne LCD S-Video Guide Main Rig: Asus Striker Extreme, Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 OC'd to 2.65GHz, 4GB Corsair XMS, 8800GTS in SLI, 36 & 74GB Raptors

9th May 2008, 19:51	#5
RTT bwarp Moderator Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Berkshire Posts: 12,985	Sounds like just the tip of the iceberg __________________ This post is non-negotiable. All terms and conditions apply. Arguing on the internet is like competing in the special Olympics. Even if you win you're still a retard.

9th May 2008, 21:10	#9
Rum&Coke Supermodder Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 470	nothing to see here Last edited by Rum&Coke; 9th May 2008 at 22:32. Reason: need to know basis

9th May 2008, 19:23	#3
M4RTIN Ultramodder Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Birmingham, UK Posts: 1,257	theres got to be more to it than this. i can understand losing Â£220,000 would cause some serious probblem for them, but to just fold lke this seems a bit much.

9th May 2008, 20:27	#6
Atomic Gerwaff Join Date: May 2002 Location: Norwich, UK Posts: 7,898	No wonder they've gone into administration! That's alot of money to loose for any company.

9th May 2008, 21:34	#10
Cupboard I'm not a modder. Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bury St Edmunds/Durham Uni Posts: 1,844	If I had anything to do with Rock, I would want to wring his neck at the moment. Its a real shame they have died. On the bright side it does show this guy up and make him look like a right ******. __________________ i7 920, 8800GTS 512, 6GB Corsair all in an Intel DX58SO; 3320GB RAID5; CM Stacker Samsung Q45.

9th May 2008, 21:37	#11
sotu1 Mini Love Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: England, South of. Posts: 1,168	there is no way the theft of 200,000 can cause a company to go under. there's more to this, thats a definate __________________ Death to consolification !!! [size=1]Give me my Windforce! I'm coming back!

9th May 2008, 21:46	#12
julianmartin It's good to see you John Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Guildford Massive Posts: 1,231	well actually that is quite possible, if the shareholders first found out about this they would probably bail on the company...no investment = crippled company. they are probably all asking the same question and wondering how it never got detected, hence their faith in the company gone. quite plausible really... if their turnover is only 5 million, 200,000 is ALOT in terms of profit. __________________ work play

9th May 2008, 21:46	#13
Ryu_ookami Mod Master Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Ipswich Posts: 2,293	How does losing 220,000 over a 2 to 3 year period cause a company that has 5 million pound turn over PER YEAR cause it to go into administration? There's something dodgy there, no two ways about it. Especially when 11,000 odd of that is in computers that were stolen but presumably insured. __________________ Never argue with a fool. They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience All edits done by the Hellhound Grammar Nazi that is my evil GF.

9th May 2008, 22:18	#14
TheCherub Supermodder Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 375	Insurance doesn't necessarily pay out that quickly, and cashflow is always a killer in business. Whilst £200,000 doesn't sound like a lot on roughly £15million turnover (over 3 years), when you consider how tight the margins are in the PC business it isn't actually all that surprising.

9th May 2008, 22:59	#15
docodine Ultramodder Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Illinois Posts: 1,494	Rock is that big of a company? I've never seen ads outside of Bit-tech. :? __________________ Armagetron Advanced! ~~[ Cooler Master Elite 310 \| Intel E5200 \| Zotac 9600GT \| broken MSI G31 mobo \| Corsair 2x2GB DDR2-667 ]~~

9th May 2008, 23:18	#16
ChaosDefinesOrder Vapourmodder Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 365	Turnover does not equal profit. There may have been a 5M turnover per year, but if the margins are sufficiently tight, that could equate to maybe 1M or maybe even less in yearly profit... 200K is therefore a lot to lose in this sort of circumstance. The main killer, however, seems to have been with the company's credit. Can't secure the parts for a reasonable cost, can't make the profit... It is a shame that Rock has gone down, but at the same time, gaming notebooks are still very much a niche thing and therefore by its very nature a rather turbulent sector... (possibly going to explain the tight margins) __________________ Current setup: Hiper Osiris \| Core i7 920 (Cooled by Noctua NH-U12P) \| Foxconn Renaissance \| 2x GTX280 \| Cooler Master UCP \| Corsair Dominator 3GB (soon to be 9GB) \| Creative X-Fi Titanium \| Vista Home Premium x64 \| OS Drive: WD Velociraptor 300GB. Storage: 1x 160GB, 1x 250GB, 1x 300GB, 1x500GB (incremental additions over the years! All Maxtor) \| Monitor: Dell 2709W

10th May 2008, 01:11	#17
LordPyrinc Legomaniac Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: USA Posts: 256	If the company could miss this level of theft from one of their employees, its no wonder that they are on the rocks. If they can't manage their own assets and employees, then how could they continue to compete in the business world? There is a fine line between knowing what is going on and micro-managing your staff, but seriously, this theft should not have been overlooked. __________________ HP Pavilion Elite m9040n PC - Vista Home Premium Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 @ 2.40ghz - 3G of RAM - Dual 320G HDs Upgrades/Add-ons: 22" Widescreen LCD, 700W RocketFish PSU, BFG GeForce 9800 GT 160G Ext USB HD, Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers

10th May 2008, 09:56	#20
phuzz Hypermodder Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bristol, UK Posts: 955	I used to work at Evesham Micros and their profit margin was something like 6% on each PC, I'm guessing Rock's wasn't much better. (just don't ask where half the components in my last pc came from...)