TTG in need of new capital

MOBILE phones distributor TTG Europe must raise new capital to push its bulk wholesaling business back into decent profit, it warned, claiming that it is owed £2.4m in reclaimable VAT by Customs & Excise.

TTG moved its dozen-strong bulk phone trading operation offshore to Belgium after VAT problems across the industry came to light late last year.

The business used to trade hundreds of thousandsof mobiles a day in the grey market with bills settled in 24 hours. But the rapidity of deals - often involving phones passing through five or six hands in different countries - made it difficult for Customs to track the VAT trail, and it clamped down, withholding rebates from many traders.

Shares in TTG, which reversed into cash-shell Roxspur last October, halved in value to 3.62p. They stood just above 10p in January.