Matt Ingram and Steven Muncaster of Kroll’s Birmingham and Manchester offices respectively were appointed joint administrators of Streamline Press Limited, John Baxter & Sons Limited and Spectrum Print Limited on 5 October 2022.

The joint administrators said in a statement that they had reviewed all viable options, but all three businesses had ceased to trade.

As a result, 55 employees were made redundant, with a “small number” of staff kept on to assist the administrators with the wind-down of operations.

The three commercial print businesses were bought together by former Inspired Thinking Group director Mark Lockley who embarked on a regional buy and build journey nine years ago to create an east midlands group.

The first acquisition was B1 specialist 51-staff Streamline Press which Lockley acquired in July 2013, this was followed the purchase of then 158-year-old, 28-staff Baxters nine months later. The purchase of the Hinckley, Leicestershire business added B2 and digital to Beaumont Leys-based Streamline’s offering.

Then just prior to the first lockdowns in February 2020 Streamline and Baxters jointly purchased another local B2 outfit, Spectrum Printing Services in Hamilton, under a consortium led by group managing director Lockley and group sales director Richard Smith and Baxters managing director Alastair Higgins.

Former Spectrum owners Paul Clifton and Karl Nicholson joined as operations directors to make up the five-strong senior management team.

However, according to Companies House, Higgins, Clifton and Nicholson all resigned as directors at the time their respective companies were acquired and the only active directors at the three trading businesses were Lockley and Smith.

At the time Spectrum was brought into the fold the three businesses, which retained their individual branding and sites, collectively employed just shy of 100 staff after also recruiting 11 staff from the collapsed Taylor Bloxham business. They set a target of combined sales of around £13m.

Following the purchase of Spectrum, the group rebranded under the SBS Print Group umbrella in November 2020, at which time headcount had fallen to just under 80 as a result of the pandemic.

Joint administrator Ingram said: “The printing industry has experienced a difficult period during Covid-19. This, coupled with external economic factors including rising energy costs has resulted in significant cashflow pressures for the SBS Group.

“The Group was, unfortunately, unable to secure any further investment or a sale of the business.”