Christopher Pole and Ryan Grant of Interpath Advisory in Birmingham were appointed joint administrators of Sirane Ltd on Monday (15 July), five days after the business had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators.

In a statement sent to Printweek, Interpath said: “Over recent months, the group has faced financial difficulties due to the impact of rising raw material costs, energy prices and supply constraints.

“As a result, Interpath Advisory was engaged by the company to review its strategic options. Despite significant efforts, a solvent solution could not be found, and the director made the decision to place the company into administration.”

Simon Balderson is listed as the company's sole director. 

Interpath confirmed that prior to its appointment Sirane had 194 employees across its three sites in Telford. The administrators have retained 22 employees to assist in the realisation of assets and the undertaking of their statutory duties.

“Regrettably, as it was not possible to continue to trade the business in administration, the remaining 172 members of staff have been made redundant,” they stated.

The administrators said they are exploring a number of options including seeking a buyer for the businesses, exploring interest in the company’s plant and machinery, and realising the remaining assets.

Pole, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: “Unfortunately, the significant financial difficulties faced by Sirane due to rising raw material costs, increasing energy prices, and supply chain constraints have left the company in an unsustainable position.

“Our primary focus is to support those affected employees, providing them with the guidance and resources needed to file claims from the Redundancy Payments Service.”

Interpath said customers and suppliers will be contacted directly by the administration team to discuss the administration and next steps.

Sirane became the first company in the UK to take delivery of HP’s Indigo 200k Digital Press last year. In the last couple of years it also launched a range of oven-friendly films and pouches printed with heat-resistant water-based inks and took on the first Bobst Vision CI flexo press in the UK.

In its most recently filed accounts at Companies House, for the year ended 31 December 2022, the business reported a turnover of £29.7m, down from £38.5m in 2021. It posted a pre-tax loss of £5.1m in 2022, after reporting a pre-tax profit of nearly £9.7m in 2021.

At that time it employed around 380 staff.