"Julian M. Benscher, the man behind the... million plan to buy out Trans World Entertainment Corp. in Guilderland, is in charge of a company that has nothing to do with selling compact discs or movie DVDs.
Benscher, a citizen of the United Kingdom, is president of Sherwood Farms in Groveland, Fla., an orchid wholesaler that describes itself as one of the biggest orchid growers in the U.S. Sherwood Farms has more than two million plants in 13-plus acres of greenhouses, according to its Web site. Benscher's involvement with the orchid farm was disclosed in a Dec. 10 filing at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. ... Benscher said... he got into the flower business after he and his associates loaned money to a few businessmen who owned land in Groveland where they grew orchids... The businesses went bust... and filed for bankruptcy a few years ago. ... A subsidiary of Sherwood Investment Overseas Ltd. took over ownership of the orchid farm as a result of the bankruptcy case and has run the business for the past couple years. The orchids are sold to distributors who supply Wal-mart, Lowe's, The Home Depot and other retailers... Benscher said the orchid farm has about $5 million in annual revenue and that the business is "flourishing."... Sherwood's principal office is in Groveland, Fla., at the same address where the orchid farm is located, but it's organized under the laws of the British Virgin Islands. Other entities listed on the Schedule 13D are Sherwood Trust and Overseas Trust Company Ltd., whose principal address is Monrovia, Liberia." URL : http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2007/12/10/daily7.html?jst=b_ln_hl ************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
