The financial bloodbath surrounding the failure of what had been the UK’s biggest paper merchant is becoming apparent as the details surrounding the highly complex administration process emerge.

Through what had been its three main trading entities: Robert Horne Group, The Paper Company and Howard Smith Paper Group, Paperlinx owed creditors £20.1m, £19.3m and £13.3m respectively.

The deficit in the Robert Horne defined benefit pension scheme was put at £153.4m, while the deficit in the Howard Smith scheme was £27m.

The enormous pension liability was one of the stumbling blocks around the potential sale of the business. In the most recent accounts of parent group Paperlinx, the pension scheme deficits were listed at £76.5m and £6.8m.

Unsurprisingly, paper manufacturers make up the biggest tranche of trade creditors.

Stora Enso companies are listed as being owed £10.5m across the various Paperlinx companies. Paperlinx had been the group’s major merchant in the UK, prior to Stora’s decision to sell some of its grades direct.

Lecta Paper was owed just over £6m, and Arctic Paper companies were owed £2.9m.

However, the amounts include the value of stock that manufacturers may have recovered under retention of title claims.

Stora Enso Lumipaper managing director Mario di Lieto said: “This figure does not take into account the value of all stocks returned under retention of title claims in coated woodfree, uncoated woodfree, part mechanical and graphical board grades.”

A month ago Lecta Paper said its likely bad debt with Paperlinx would be between €5m-€10m (£3.7m-£7.5m), while Arctic Paper has made a €3.7m (£2.7m) provision.

According to figures contained in the administrators’ report, it could be the case that circa 4,000 pallets of stock have been recovered by manufacturers.

The Deloitte documents also reveal a complex web of inter-company payables and loans between Paperlinx’s UK and continental Europe operations.

For more, see next week’s issue of PrintWeek.