Printmountain is to propose a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) and the revival of the firm as a "print management company" at a creditors and shareholders meeting later this month.


The Wimbledon-based company was forced to suspend its online print procurement service earlier this year after it failed to secure second round funding (PrintWeek, 9 March).


Initial investors Internet Capital Group and GE Equity had funded the venture to the tune of 4.2m, but declined to offer further support.


Printmountain then took time to appraise its options and decided a CVA was "the best route forward for creditors". According to the CVA proposal document, it reported a loss of almost 4.5m in the 10-month period to 31 January 2001.


The document claims the service, launched at Drupa, had signed up 600 printers and 1,200 buyers by July
last year, and 800 print jobs were placed on the site. But by September "it became apparent that projections for the closure of jobs proved to be optimistic."


Company spokesman Thomas Kahrl said the firm was "100% confident" the proposal would be accepted at the creditors and shareholders meeting to be held on 20 June at the London premises of business recovery firm Leonard Curtis.


The firms debts total around 3.5m. Unsecured creditors will be offered around 3p in the pound under the proposal, which estimates that in the event of a liquidation, unsecured creditors would be offered just 1.45p.


Kahrl said the firm was keeping details of its planned revival under wraps for the time being.


"We use the term print management as a broad term to mean helping printers manage their customers more profitably and buyers to work more efficiently with their printers," he said.


Story by Lauretta Roberts