company loans and advances, provisional liquidators for the group of companies said yesterday.

The same three directors -- Mr. Richard Burns, Mr. Thomas Burns, and Mr.

Christopher Donnachie -- each paid themselves more than $100,000 a year, Mr.

Charles Kempe and Mr. Gil Tucker of Kempe & Whittle said in a news release.

The liquidators -- who were appointed on a provisional basis pending Supreme Court hearings on December 29 -- also revealed outside investors in Televest Ltd. had a stake of $8.3 million -- up from an earlier estimate of more than $6 million.

Televest investors bought blocks of preferred shares and were promised annual returns of seven to nine percent. The shares were to be redeemable upon 14 days notice.

But payment of dividends and redemption of shares was halted last week after the court appointed provisional liquidators for Televest and three related Bermuda companies.

Televest was owned by Telecheck Holdings Ltd., a company that operated 10,000 Signature and Travel Card credit cards. Telecheck's cheque approval service for merchants processed more than 25,000 cheque transactions per week.

A day before liquidators were named for those two companies, TBL Ltd. and CTRAK Ltd. were put in the same boat in response to petitions from United Kingdom creditors. The apparent failure of the four companies was described as a chain reaction.

Kempe and Whittle have still not stated the size of the UK claims against TBL and CTRAK. The claim against CTRAK is understood to be about $2 million.

As for more than 500 Bermuda investors in Televest, "the legal and financial status of the preference shareholders remains unclear'', Mr. Kempe and Mr.

Tucker said.

"But at this time it appears unlikely that full recovery will be made to them, given the apparent inability to collect in full the amounts advanced to directors by way of loans, coupled with the inevitable provision that will have to be made for bad debts.'' As of September 30, the Telecheck companies trade receivables were about $5.7 million before allowances for bad debts, the statement said. Televest had about $90,000 in cash, while Telecheck Holdings had about $195,000.

Televest preference shares outstanding totalled $7.6 million, while the value of issued notes which were convertible to preference shares was $400,000, and dividends owing were $300,000.

"Further work is required to clarify a number of issues, particularly amounts due to and from other related parties.'' The provisional liquidators said the financial statements presented to potential Televest investors "present but a part of the group economic activity which is related to and inseparable from Televest Ltd.

"Televest's parent (Telecheck Holdings) has suffered substantial losses over the last several years.'' Records relating to cardholders' accounts and preference shareholders were up to date, but "the companies did not maintain general accounting records on a current basis''.

Mr. Julian Hall, lawyer for the Burns brothers and Mr. Donnachie, said he did not intend to litigate the case in the Press. The important fact was that Televest Ltd. "has no debts at all,'' he said.

"Why was a company with no debts caused to be wound up on the basis that it is unable to pay its debts, just before Christmas, when it engaged in the bulk of its commercial activity?'' he asked.

Mr. Hall said he did not know whether his clients owed the companies loans or advances, nor what salaries they paid themselves.

More emphasis was being placed on the alleged rights of purported UK creditors than upon "the clear rights of local investors'', he said.