Buyers sought for assets of country’s third oldest printing firm

An historic Oldham printing company is seeking buyers for its assets after entering administration.

Thomas Dornan (Printers) was founded in 1848 and is the third oldest printing firm in the country.

It specialises in litho, digital, and large formatting printing.

However, on June 29, 2023, Christopher Lawton and Gary Lee, of Begbies Traynor, were appointed as joint administrators and are now seeking interested parties to acquire the company’s assets.

Initial interest had been sought for the sale of the business and assets as a whole.

But now, the company’s assets are to be sold by online auction, with a closing date of August 18.

Chris Lawton said: “This is an historic company which has its roots in the birth of the printing industry in this country.

“The business was hit hard by the impact of the pandemic and recent business challenges meant the director explored every option before entering the company into administration.

“In the absence of any parties seeking to purchase the business and assets as a whole, we are now seeking parties who may be interested in acquiring the assets on a break-up basis.”

He added: “Any interest to acquire all assets will also continue to be considered.”

The last accounts filed by the firm at Companies House, for the year ended May 31, 2022, showed total net assets of £227,565, which compared with £291,122 the previous year. Its average employee number remained the same as the prior year, at 15.