Administration, Liquidation and Pre-pack
In February 2010, NCC went in to administration and ultimately liquidation. The few remaining assets and intellectual property rights were transferred in a "pre-pack" administration arrangement to Redholt Ltd a new private company, thus distancing the new company from the NCC creditors, which included a substantial pension fund liability resulting in the insolvency of the pension fund later that year. Redholt Ltd was owned by a group of six shareholders, including former managers and two Directors of the insolvent National Computing Centre
Redholt Ltd, was renamed as The National Computing Centre Limited (NCC Ltd) in Feb 2011. In 2011 NCC Ltd extended its portfolio of services to include IT consulting, mainly as a virtual organisation through the use of independent associate consultants.
The 'new' NCC Ltd was not a mutual not-for-profit organisation, but retained some of the member organisations of the liquidated company initially it delivered some of the same products and services but is now a shell company operating and website with minimal business content .
By the end of 2011, the 'new' NCC Ltd once again faced financial difficulties and in 2012 it sought voluntary arrangements with its creditors to step away from its debts. The company had run up substantial losses, had not paid suppliers and had not filed accounts. Nearly all staff were laid off and the business having already left its iconic building in 2010 it finally left Manchester. The company was formally recorded at UK Companies House as being insolvent and in a voluntary arrangement as of the 2nd March 2012. The insolvency practitioner dealing with the companies affairs is Wilkins Kennedy of London. NCC Ltd is no longer recognised by any trade body, association or any part of Government as the "voice of the computer user". The companies fall from grace now means that the voice of the UK computer user is more widely represented by larger, independent, not for profit organisations such the BCS, SOCITM, ASSIST, etc.
As of August 2012, the organisation is registered as being run from a private property in Aston Abbotts, Buckinghamshire, but occasionally lists a Bournemouth telephone number on its website. It is unclear from the NCC Ltd website who owns, operates or works for the company, nor is it clear which legal entity operates the site. The NCC Ltd website is updated monthly with a generic syndicated news feed but its Facebook page was last updated in November 2011. It would appear that NCC Ltd offers no substantial services to its client base and is now a shell company. As of November 2012 the NCC Ltd website announced another return to consulting with a NCC branded service being delivered by Arawak Consulting, who claim to provide "professional management consulting for government, non-profit, and private-sector clients based on the principles of God's Living Word: our Lord Jesus Christ; and God's Written Word, the Holy Bible."
It is perhaps appropriate to reflect that the final legacy of the "white heat of technology" is now only carried on by NCC Group plc.
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