Yesterday (12 April), property and plant specialist Lambert Smith Hampton circulated information about the equipment for sale it is handling together with used equipment dealer Roberts Graphics in Wakefield. 

The kit includes five Manroland web offset presses spanning 16pp, 32pp, 48pp and 64pp models, and a five-colour plus coater KBA Rapida 105 sheetfed press.

A raft of bindery and mailroom equipment is also up for sale, including a 2020 Muller Martini Primera MC stitching line, and the 2015 Ferag Unidrum system that YM acquired from Polestar. 

The apparent poor state of some of the equipment pictured has raised eyebrows among industry professionals.

“They didn’t keep anything in good condition. It’s a shame isn’t it?” noted one former YM staffer. 

However, a web offset expert said he would not necessarily be put off by superficial dirt. 

“To make a proper assessment you would have to check the main cylinder bearings and bearer pressures which would take an engineer about a couple of days per press,” he noted.

“Theoretically you could spend a good deal less on a decent refurbishment in situ than moving them. The Pindar factory might well be the best maintained and could well retain a lot of the old family firm mentality. If anyone could make it work, Walstead could,” he added.

Sources have told Printweek that bids need to be submitted to FRP Advisory today (13 April) regarding possible offers to keep any of the three sites going.

Separately, JanusTech had already listed some of the presses from YM Chantry for sale, including the KBA Compacta C818 64pp and Goss Sunday M4000 64pp.

More than 500 employees were laid off immediately when the three sites were suddenly placed into administration at the end of March.

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