Passing a resolution to wind up the company voluntarily and appoint Ian Yerrill of insolvency firm Yerrill Murphy as liquidator, the firm has now closed its doors.
In a statement, Yerrill said: "In 2019 DCW Penrose Limited was trading from premises in London Road, Staines, Middlesex. It suffered two fires in the space of a few weeks with strong suspicions of arson.
"Whilst it managed to recover from that setback, the Covid pandemic hit just a few months later, and its impacts on the economy are well documented. This business suffered as many others did.
"Post-Covid, overheads increased as a result of higher paper costs, ink costs, distribution costs and energy costs. Higher interest rates and inflation restricted turnover exacerbated by a continued customer allegiance shift from print to digital media.
"The board of DCW Penrose monitored the financial position continuously. In March 2024 the board concluded that the company was not sustainable in the long term and that it was in the best interests of all parties that it should close. Yerrill Murphy was instructed to assist with the Liquidation on 13 March 2024 and I was appointed Liquidator on 27 March 2024.”
A statement of affairs posted by liquidators on Companies House showed an estimated £465,966 of assets available to unsecured creditors, after employees’ pension schemes and HMRC had taken their dues.
If estimates are accurate, the liquidation would see all creditors paid in full.
Based in Ashford, West London, the 66-year-old firm sold a number of large pieces of equipment, including a six-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 102-6-P3+L press, through asset realisation firm Key Appraisal.
Also listed on the 17 April sale were a pair of Xerox Versant 4100 and 180 digital presses, a Horizon BQ-270V perfect binder, a Muller Martini stitching line, and an older Heidelberg SBG cutting and creasing cylinder.
Mark Humphrey, director of Key Appraisal, told Printweek that there had been strong interest in the auction, and very few lots had gone unsold.
He said: “We managed to achieve a good result for the creditors of the company.”
While there was interest across all lots, Humphrey said, there was particularly strong interest in some of the larger machines for sale, including the digital machinery and the Heidelberg Speedmaster and SBG cutting and creasing cylinder.
“The industry is changing, but there are still buyers out there who want traditional kit – though interestingly, quite a bit of this kit went to trade users,” he added.
Calls to DCW Penrose's listed phone numbers are no longer being connected.
