The future of Acorn hangs in the balance this week. The storm that threatened to sink the company a week ago shows no sign of blowing over, and the chances of Acorn emerging intact look bleak.

As PCN went to press, Acorn was sheltering behind a wall of silence. Its official statement, that the company was reorganising its finances, only served to intensify the rumours sweeping the industry.

But suppliers, stockbrokers, users and associates were all holding their breath. The BBC, Acorn's mainstay over the last three years, seemed as confused as anybody at the speed with which Acorn had been plunged into crisis.

Matters came to a head last Wednesday (February 6 1985) when the company's share price dipped to 23p before trading in the stock was suspended. It transpired that Acorn had changed its bankers, moving from Lazard Brothers to the less well-known Close Brothers, and that its broker, Cazenove, had resigned.

That points to a serious disagreement over financial policy, since a company's banker is also its financial advisor. City stockbrokers expect Acorn to show a loss in its year's business up to June 1985, after years of consistent growth, and confidence in the company evaporated as the share price tumbled.

The crisis appears to have struck Acorn half-way through a reorganisation. It trimmed the number of distributors from 17 to six last week and was understood to be on the point of cutting its workforce by about seven per cent. It may now be forced into even greater cuts.

The vast numbers of BBC Micros sold, coupled with the well-developed support industry that has grown around the machine, could make Acorn (or part of it) an attractive proposition as the object of a takeover bid. But the rumours that GEC and Thorn-EMI are about to step in with a cheque book can be discounted.

Even if the company's future is taken out of its hands, users of BBCs and Electron should be able to count on continued support. The BBC Micro alone supports a number of independent maintenance organisations.

Torch, which pulled out of a proposed merger with Acorn just days before the storm broke, affirmed that it would "continue to supply BBC addons while there is a demand for them," and this was also the attitude of other third-party suppliers. Torch is understood to be licensed to produce BBC Micros if Acorn becomes unable to deliver them.

Meanwhile Acorn's efforts to re-construct are likely to be hampered by a credibility gap that grows wider as the company's silence lengthens. To add to its problems, it may be asked why it gave no formal notice last week that it had parted company with its banker.

* See Home Front for analysis of Acorn's problems.