Print firm turns a new page
A PRINTING company based in East Manchester has been saved by two of its former directors after administrators were appointed to the business.
The business and assets of Pelican Press based at Pollard St close to the Etihad Stadium have been sold to Eastland Colour after administrators from insolvency firm Wilson Field were appointed to its former parent, Holdmede Ltd.
Eastland Colour is run by former Holdmede directors Craig Ikin and Janette Rennicks, and former Holdmede director Ian Crow is also a consultant to the firm but not a director.
They have agreed a deal with Wilson Field’s joint administrators Kelly Burton and Lisa Jane Hogg from Wilson Field to buy assets including printing presses for £20,000, payable in instalments. The deal also sees 24 of Pelican Press’s 37 staff retained.
A letter to creditors shows that Holdmede, which was set up in 2002 to buy Pelican Press’s assets from a previous liquidation, managed to grow turnover and profits steadily, but then hit trouble as overheads increased and investment was needed in new machinery.
The firm bought a second-hand printing press financed by Close Asset Finance and was expecting a £100,000 refund from Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), which it planned to use for short-term cashflow.
However, HMRC said that it would be issuing a refund and would instead use it to offset a PAYE bill owed by the company. a request to enter into a time to pay scheme was also refused, which led to Holdmede’s bosses calling in Wilson Field to advise on its options.
It said a pre-pack deal was the best course of actions as it did not have the necessary funds to trade the business itself and that if the company had ceased trading then the assets would have been worth less. In taking on the majority of existing staff, Eastland Colour has also minimised the potential number of employee claims faced by Holdmede.
