Robert Maxwell and Lee Van Lockwood of Begbies Traynor were appointed as administrators of the Darlington, County-Durham based company last Friday (31 October).
Sources close to the firm, which offered general printing and marketing, design and print management services to clients in a range of industries, have said that managing director Keiran Bayley bought its assets on the same day in a pre-pack deal and the new company will operate as Addo Printing.
According to local newspaper The Journal, previous efforts to find a funder to take control of HPM’s banking facilities had proved fruitless. But Bayley reportedly managed to secure the finance needed to enable Addo to acquire the assets of HPM & Addo at the last minute.
HPM & Addo was formed earlier this year after £3.7m-turnover HPM (Hill Print Media) Group and Darlington-based £1m-turnover Addo Printing merged. HPM Group managing director Richard Mortimer became chairman of the new firm while Addo managing director Bayley took on the same role at the combined entity.
The company changed its name to HPM & Addo on 16 June and Mortimer officially resigned as a director on 17 October according to Companies House, although sources have said that he retired the previous month.
PrintWeek understands that 12 of HPM & Addo’s 42 staff have been made redundant following the administration, all of whom were from the HPM side of the business.
HPM & Addo’s assets included a 10-colour Speedmaster SM 74 and Muller Martini perfect binder as well as a Speedmaster SM 74-5, an MBO folder and Duplo System 5000 bookletmaker, which were brought over from Addo Printing during the merger.
According to The Journal, HPM Group had declined during tough trading conditions prior to its merger, but had hoped the merger would turn its fortunes around. But the loss of a number of contracts, including the production of match-day programmes for Middlesborough FC and Sunderland FC, made a turnaround impossible.
Speaking to The Journal earlier this week, Bayley had said: “When we found out HPM were in trouble earlier in the year we felt if we put both operations under one roof we could turn the business around and save all the jobs in jeopardy.
“It was unfortunate that we couldn’t shake off HPM’s struggles and, with significant pressure from the bank, it eventually meant the end of what was a print company with real heritage.
“Unfortunately the business model for staffing levels in relation to turnover simply didn’t stack up. Ultimately we were faced with the difficult choice of making 12 redundancies or 42.”
Consumables supplier Inkland, which supplied HPM & Addo with consumables including ink and printing plates, is owed "a significant amount" following the administration.
“We’ve supplied HPM Group for many years. We’d had a few issues with the business over the last 18 months with slow payment so we were keeping a close eye on it and trying to manage it the best that we could,” said managing director Steve Wilson.
“Addo Printing called us a few days ago to offer us ongoing business but I refused as I wanted to make a stand in principle that I’m sick of these pre-packs happening. It was one of our biggest accounts, so not only have we taken a big debt, but we’ve also lost ongoing business.
“We’ve had to make cuts like everyone, but this year we were in the best shape that we’ve been in for a long time. This has dealt us a blow and now we’re back to square one, but we’ll try to get through the next few months without that business. There’s a big supply chain into HPM including trade finishers and trade printers so a lot of companies are going to take a hit on this.”
Begbies Traynor and Addo Printing were unavailable for comment at the time of writing.
