Adland Print Group chairman Bob Reeves has finally pulled the plug on the former REM Colour Print subsidiary which he added to the Adland stable a year ago.
Reeves was unsure whether it had actually been liquidated yet, but he told PrintWeek: "All I have done is refuse to support it any more. Ive put more than 700,000 into it and its just a black hole."
Adland bought Chingford-based REM from Bob Murcell last September, after REM impressed Reeves with its punctual output of substantial amounts of Adlands overload work. At the time, REM owed large sums to various creditors, and Adland assumed this debt when it bought the business. Murcell became a director of Adland, and still works alongside Reeves.
REM ceased trading immediately and the Chingford factory was integrated into the Adland empire. Today it is Adlands main production site, and is still run by most of the old REM management team.
Reeves said that most, but not all, of the debts he inherited had now been cleared. "A lot of people have been paid a lot of money. Now I have informed him (Murcell) that I am not supporting it any longer."
He declined to comment further, saying that the groups finance director, Francis Knight, had all the details and was away until next week.
Bob Murcell said: "There were various outstandings which Bob was not possibly prepared to continue with.
"As far as I know the only trade creditor is Adland Print Group.
"It has nothing whatsoever to do with me. If Bob has decided to put REM to bed 12 months after acquiring it, thats up to him."
Story by Tania Mason