Impress, which traded as ACI Print Group, had Manchester-based insolvency practitioner Jones Lowndes Dwyer (JLD) appointed by its creditors to be liquidator on 18 October at a creditors’ meeting held at its offices.
According to JLD partner Claire Dwyer, she was instructed on 30 September to assist in placing Impress, which was based on Fosse Road, Oakley Hay Industrial Estate, Corby, in liquidation. It cited its main reason for going under as being “loss of clients”.
Sam Reid, managing director of Cambridge-based Riverport Press, was made aware of the availability of Impress's former site and kit as he had been a trade customer of Impress.
Following the appointment of the liquidators, Reid signed for £350,000 worth of Impress' kit from Compass Business Finance and also took over the lease of the old Impress building, setting up a Riverport litho division in its former premises.
Reid said: “We took over the kit and the building on 6 October to service our client base and due to the success of what we’ve done since we’ve been here we have been able to bring in some of the old members of staff.”
Reid said that in the next few weeks he will have a total of nine new staff employed in the litho division, five of whom used to work for Impress. Two started on 1 November and a further three will start on 14 November.
Machinery retained includes a six-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 plus coater, several folders, laminators and other finishing equipment.
According to Reid, there had been some speculation in the industry that former Impress director Simon Greaves was linked in some way to Riverport’s new operation. However, Reid stated there was absolutely no connection.
This was echoed by JLD’s Dwyer: “We have been approached by some creditors stating that ACI is operating from the former premises of Impress Print Limited. This is not the case. Prior to liquidation the landlord forfeited the lease and re-let to an unconnected third party. I understand a number of staff of Impress Print Limited are employed by the new tenant.
“Financed assets were I believe transferred to a third party who is currently occupying the company’s former premises. This was negotiated between the third party and the finance company. This company is not associated in any way with ACI. The unencumbered assets have been sold to a different third party."
According to Companies House, Greaves set up a new company, ACI Print Group, on 21 July. Prior to its collapse, Impress had also been trading as ACI Print Group.
Impress’ statement of affairs shows it to have had a book debt of £194,699 at the time of its liquidation, with £15,151 total assets available for preferential creditors.
Calverton Finance is a secured creditor and is owed £163,601.
Its estimated deficiency as regards non-preferential creditors excluding shortfalls is £250,112, of which trade and expense creditors are owed just shy of £100,000 (£95,917), £82,959 is for redundancy and notice pay, £18,474 is for unpaid wages, £28,596 is in the form of a directors’ loan from Greaves and the rest is owed to HMRC.
Of the 102 creditors listed, Calverton Finance is owed the most, followed by Greaves and HMRC.
Greaves is listed as director of a number of other companies, including Avalon Print Limited, which was compulsorily struck-off on Companies House on 1 November, and two other dissolved companies: On Press Ltd and Eaveswood Colour Ltd. He declined to comment.
Riverport Press has a separate digital division in St Ives, Cambridgeshire.
