Letsbuyit raises E2.5m of the E4m it needs to stay afloat

Beleaguered internet retailer Letsbuyit.com has raised E2.5m of the E4m it needs by Thursday afternoon to avoid bankruptcy, Reuters reports.

If it does raise the outstanding sum to satisfy judges at a Friday court hearing in Amsterdam, it will still need to find a further E30m by 14 March to satisfy its short-term liquidity needs, a source close to the company told the news service.

A court ruling on Friday gives the e-tailer until Friday afternoon to find E4m in funding or bank guarantees, following a petition for bankruptcy by Letsbuyit’s administrators.

Reuters reports that Letsbuyit lost E0.11 per share or almost 40 per cent of its value on the Neuer Markt yesterday afternoon. It was reported last week that one of Letsbuyit's leading creditors was hoping to take legal action against the trustees to stop the bankruptcy proceedings.

A creditor was quoted saying: “We signed an agreement with the trustees which gave Letsbuyit until March 8 to sort out its financing. We have not been consulted regarding the change and believe it is in our long-term interests to give Letsbuyit the chance to continue trading.”