PrintWeek reported yesterday that Hobs has acquired the majority of Callprint’s business and will roll it into its reprographics wing Hobs Repro after Callprint went into administration when it ran out of cash.
It has now been confirmed by administrator Duff & Phelps that the sites being transferred to Hobs comprise Callprint’s premises in London, Uxbridge and Bristol, giving the combined entity a presence of 24 UK premises.
A number of Callprint sites are in the process of being shut down, including Birmingham and Croydon, with an undisclosed number of staff being made redundant in the process.
Redwood Press, a company which represents Callprint’s presence in Liverpool and was registered as Call Print 7 Ltd until 2010, has been mothballed by Duff & Phelps and is not part of the sale. In the year to 30 March 2017 it turned over £1.4m with 16 registered staff.
Callprint managing director Steve Cheek is now reportedly involved with Merseyside trade printer Wirral Continuous, trading as WirralCo, which is located nearby. A charge registered against the company describes him as a director, though he is not officially listed as such.
Cheek was confirmed by the administrator to have been made redundant from Callprint, alongside several members of his family. He is currently assisting the administrator “as part of his fiduciary duties as a former company director”.
However, Hobs chief executive James Duckenfield told PrintWeek yesterday that Steve and Gary Cheek had both been given new positions at the merged entity of Hobs Repro and Callprint.
Duff & Phelps will now work to try and sell the Liverpool operation and produce its creditors report, with Phil Duffy overseeing the process.
He said: “We marketed the Callprint business attempting to identify a buyer for the business as a going concern.
“Hobs was the successful candidate as a result of a detailed assessment of all offers made for the business and assets, one that delivered the best outcome for creditors.
“We are pleased to announce that after a period of extensive marketing, the majority of the business of Call Print Group has been sold to Hobs Repro. It is a positive outcome for the group, securing its future, and forging the market leader in the reprographics industry here in the UK.”
Duffy confirmed that Call Print Express, a separate registered company representing Callprint’s activities in Dubai, UAE, was not part of the sale to Hobs and is not currently in administration. It would be subject to UAE insolvency law, which is more complex.
