“I know this receivership is hurting people. I humbly, humbly apologise to my team, our clients and suppliers who have been hurt or affected by what has transpired with Skelton Sherborne over the last nine days,” Skelton said in his letter.
He claims as receiver, Deloitte is making decisions which it thinks are in the best interest of the company “and no doubt their client, HSBC”.
“Many of these decisions and actions my team and I do not agree with nor in anyway condone,” he says.
“We are sad to see some of our great clients, who have become friends as well, incurring further expenses that in our view could have and should have been avoided or at least minimised.”
Skelton warned that client and supplier relationships are being damaged and right now losses are being incurred which he is powerless to stop at the moment.
“Again I am deeply sorry for any hardship, expense or inconvenience this situation is causing anybody associated with Skelton Sherborne,” he says.
“I am sincerely doing everything in my power to make things right. This situation is a massive setback that will slow me down but it will not stop me.”
Skelton told SmartCompany, he posted the letter to express his sadness at what is happening.
“I feel genuinely sorry for what has transpired because this is hurting clients, it is hurting suppliers and my team right now are concerned for their futures so that was my main driver to try to use my blog as a platform to communicate with anyone with any association with my company,” he says.
He points the finger at HSBC which he says has been unwilling to negotiate even though the amount owed is less than $1 million and also says he is concerned at Deloitte’s actions as receivers.
“I feel very sorry for a lot of my customers as Deloitte is requiring some people to pay things like import duty, GST and freight charges twice, they are saying ‘If you want your cargo pay it again’,” he says.
“I am fighting like hell to save my business, as I talk to you now the receivers are in my office, the decisions that they are taking and the way they are choosing to carry out their duties are very destructive to client relationship.”
Skelton says he is concerned at what will be left of his business at the end of the process.
“Once the receivership comes to an end and I am left to carry on, a lot of clients have already left and I don’t know if I can convince them to come back again, the damage to my business is immense.”
A spokesperson for Deloitte told SmartCompany “the receivers and managers are acting at all times in the interests of secured creditors, as is required by the law.”
SmartCompany contacted HSBC but it declined to comment.
Cara Waters is the editor of SmartCompany. Cara was previously a senior reporter at the Financial Times website FT Adviser in London and has also worked for The Sunday Times.
