Bonnie and Clyde of the printing industry escape latest attempt to nail them; Essentra set to shut some UK sites; Bradford firm goes bust and trouble at Royal Mail - ICSM Credit's latest print industry news

The duo known as the Bonnie and Clyde of the print industry who left a trail of debt before being brought to book by staff at ICSM Credit, victims and the Insolvency Service are back in business is seems. However it is the Clyde who is apparently back in business after the couple split up when the High Court gave them lengthy bans as company directors.

ICSM Credit’s Ian Carrotte said: “We’ve had reports Neil Malcolm Stuart John of Barry in South Wales has been posing as a print farmer as a sole trader. We understand that a recent attempt to take him to court for trading fraudulently failed due to lack of evidence.”

Dodgy duo

Print Monthly reported back in 2019: “John traded under various company names and used a number of websites with similar layouts offering cheap printing services.

“John, along with partner Clair Hunnisett, operated under Printed Books Ltd, Book Printer UK, The Printing Press and UK, Litho Printing Limited and Paper Press Limited and Paperback Printer, Bookworld Ltd and Hardback Printer Ltd, which were all guises for the same operation run by the same people.

“The disqualification relates to his directorship of Houseprint Ltd, in which the Insolvency Service says John continued to use ‘a flawed business model, which had been instrumental in the failure of at least three previous companies’ that John acted as director for, including Masterclass Associates Limited, Ambeck Corporation Limited and Tyson Media Limited.”

Essentra shut sites

One of the biggest names in packaging has been reported by Richard Stuart-Turner in Print Week. He reported: “The company said that it has undertaken a detailed review of its global footprint, ‘which has resulted in the proposed closure of certain sites in 2021, across the Components and Packaging divisions’.

“Essentra Packaging operates from 24 facilities across four geographic regions and serves the major global pharmaceutical companies and five of the top 20 beauty organisations. The division’s products include cartons, leaflets, self-adhesive labels and printed foils used in blister packs. Essentra Components, meanwhile, operates in 29 countries worldwide and has 14 manufacturing facilities and 29 logistics centres. It offers products for a variety of applications in industries such as equipment manufacturing, automotive, fabrication, electronics and construction.”

Richard Stuart-Turner continued: “Additionally, now that the UK has exited the EU with a trade deal, Essentra said its focus ‘has shifted to ensuring the effective management of the new arrangements’ and that, overall, it continues not to foresee any material direct impact to the company from Brexit.”

Bradford firm

Creative Digital Images Limited based at the Euroway Industrial Estate, Bradford, has hit the buffers and appointed administrators. The firm won a string of Print Week awards in the noughties and expanded to cover exhibition designs, wide format and graphic design. In 2007 they Creative won the top prize for its work with household names including Boots, Superdrug and Nike.

Slow down

Print Monthly’s Rob Fletcher has reported on problems at Royal Mail. He said: “The service published a list of areas likely to be impacted by delays, which are the result of some staff members being off sick after testing positive for Covid-19 or having to self-isolate in line with government regulations. Royal Mail said 28 areas, 27 of which are in England and one in Northern Ireland, should expect delays over the coming weeks.”

About ICSM Credit

ICSM Credit has more than four decades of experience as a credit intelligence group whose members gain inside information about firms in trouble allowing them to avoid bad debts and rogue traders. To join costs less than a tank of fuel - while at the moment there's a special free temporary membership offer during the Covid-19 crisis which gives access to free legal letters. ICSM also has an effective debt collecting service which has a global reach - ask for details from Paul.

For details about ICSM Credit call 0844 854 1850 or visit the website www.icsmcredit.com or email Ian at Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com on how to subscribe and to join the UK’s credit intelligence network to avoid bad debts and late payers. Follow ICSM Credit on FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube and Ian Carrotte on LinkedIn.

To keep up to date subscribe to the FREE ICSM Credit Newsletter to hear all the latest insolvency news and to see who has gone out of business click on the orange panel on the top left of the home page of the website www.icsmcredit.com or send an email to Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com

For details for the work of the journalist Harry Mottram visit www.harrymottram.co.uk