November’s numbers headed by challenges and M&A

01 December 2021

Business

The same month that Storm Arwen ravaged parts of the UK, November’s ranking of Printweek’s most-read stories was topped by one of the UK’s largest print groups suffering a squall of its own.

1 YM in ‘perfect storm’ 16,901 clicks
A high-level team from DMG Media held an emergency meeting at YM Chantry yesterday, with the print group battling against another breakdown on a key press.

2 Opus Trust acquires Adare SEC 4,237 clicks
Omnichannel communications specialist Opus Trust Communications will become a £110m-turnover business after acquiring Adare SEC.

3 RRD to be acquired by LSC owner 4,092 clicks
RR Donnelley & Sons (RRD) is set to be acquired by affiliates of Atlas Holdings and go private in an all-cash deal worth around $2.1bn (£1.54bn).

4 Trade creditors owed circa-£1m by Office Depot UK 3,816 clicks
Part of the Office Depot business that was not purchased by Paragon subsidiary OT Group earlier this year is poised to go into liquidation with trade creditors to the company owed circa-£1m.

5 Konica Minolta explosion impacts toner supply 3,787 clicks
An explosion at a Japanese Konica Minolta toner factory last month has resulted in an impending likely shortage of toner supply.

6 Konica Minolta: toner issues result in near-£40m order backlog 3,598 clicks
Konica Minolta has a ¥6bn (£38.6m) order backlog at its Professional Print division because of the current hiatus in toner manufacturing – but the group said the toner supply shortage was “expected to be resolved at an early stage” with priority being given to existing customers.

7 Konica Minolta updates on toner availability 3,011 clicks
Konica Minolta has warned that graphic arts toner production will not resume until November as it attempts to source alternative supply to keep customers presses running.

8 Director disqualified after taking Covid support loan 2,734 clicks
The owner of a fulfilment firm has been banned from acting as a director for seven years after taking out a Bounce Back Loan despite knowing his business was already insolvent.

9 Paper prices keep going up 2,375 clicks
Printers and print buyers have been rocked by a new wave of paper price rises and surcharges, amid speculation that one paper maker could be considering a surcharge as high as £170/tonne.

10 Print outsourcer named in leaked files 2,333 clicks
A Welsh print and packaging outsourcing business has been drawn into the current storm over lobbying by MPs and the controversial ‘VIP lane’ for lucrative PPE deals.