Failed printing firm Communisis has left a deficit of more than £200m in its wake as the business went into administration.
New documents from the administrators handling the affairs of the collapsed firm with operations across the North of England show an estimated deficiency of £203.8m with regards to creditors. A list of those owed money by the print and integrated marketing specialist includes more than £11m is owed to Lloyds, a key customer who used Communisis’ services to provide thousands of bank statements.
Other sums of £2m and £4.7m are owed to TSB and Nationwide respectively, who are among the financial services customers that bought mailing and printing services from the group that had sites in the North East, North West and Yorkshire. Insurance brands AXA and Zurich are also among the group of creditors.
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Earlier this month insolvency experts from Interpath Advisory were called in to Leeds-based Communisis and closed facilities in Cramlington, Liverpool and at its head office with the loss of 638 jobs – more than half of the firm’s workforce. But joint administrators struck a deal with former Paragon Customer Communications to sell Communisis’ Brand Deployment business, which provides marketing services for major brands, and its Customer Experience arm, with provides secure print and mailing service to banks and public institutions.
The deal saved 581 jobs and includes the Communisis businesses Twelve, Editions and point-of-purchase specialist Vox Group – which was acquired in mid-2022 from OSG Intermediate Ltd for £9m. It also safeguards the delivery of contracts for Lloyds Banking Group and will see Paragon manage more than 100 million communications to and from the bank’s customers each year.
Communisis’ collapse followed a failed rescue attempt for the business which saw its former US parent company OSG Holdings file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy status last year. That led to Communisis splitting from OSG but it suffered contract losses and most recent accounts for 2021 show it had faced operating losses of more than £6.5m.
Following their appointment, administrators said the print sector had experienced unstoppable decline amid the move to digital tech, and rising production costs, including paper and energy prices, had created headwinds. They also pointed to a digital transformation project – led by Indian multinational Tech Mahindra – having proven to be more complex and costly than forecast.
Interpath also said it would contact Communisis competitors to see if there were alternative jobs for staff affected. Around 25 employees were said to have transferred to new suppliers last year as customers left the Communisis platform.
Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber
