Tycom Corporation, the maker of the 'futureproof' Microframe, has been rescued just a week after the official receiver was called in.

The money is coming from a group of so far unidentified City of London businessmen. Part of Tycom's current management team - including managing director Alan Timpany - is likely to be retained but the prospects for the Microframe are less clear.

Mr. Timpany said last week: "The new owners will have to take a long hard look at the viability of the system." But to reassure the 300 or 400 Microframe users he added that dealers continued to be enthusiastic about the machine, to the possible extent of taking on its manufacture.

The Tycom business has been sold as a going concern. Although the official receiver spoke of "a major deficiency of assets", he pointed out that the fact that people were prepared to take on the business augured well for its future.

The extent of Tycom's debts has not been disclosed. It aimed to sell 10,000 systems in its first year but despite successes with the Conservative Party these high hopes were never close to being realised.

Mr. Timpany attributed Tycom's failure to intense competition and internal shortcomings. "The IBM PC was a very strong contributory factor," he said, repeated the now familiar lamentof micro makers struggling to establish themselves. The elements of price competition, a hardening of attitudes among busters, and the disturbing procession of ailing companies going to the wall all made an impact on Tycom's prospects, he said - but he also acknowledged that "the standard of presentation and documentation" could have been better.

"Technically and concept-wise the Microframe is still a superb product," he said. The new owners, he predicted, would seek the advice of market analysts which would probably be to the effect that the market is moving towards small multi-user systems: "which is what the Microframe is anyway, so it could be in the right place at the right time."

Tycom management is preparing a statement of affairs with the receiver but the new owners will, it is anticipated, try to get the company back on an even keel as quickly as possible.

"It's business as usual next week as far as the systems market is concerned, and then they've got to do some brainstorming," Mr. Timpany said.

One possible course open to Tycom's new proprietors would be to move back towards the hotel systems business of Guestel, formerly another arm of the company - but one that was sold off last year.