ICSM Printing Industry Insolvency News: 'a bleak summer' as more print companies go under with one firm owing unsecured creditors £1.5m
By Harry Mottram: The Blackpool printing firm Mark Two Print Limited is in the process of being liquidated by Jessica Leeming and David Acland of FRP Advisory who were appointed at the beginning of July, 2026. The company has blamed a fall in demand and increased competition which made the business financially unviable in a report in Print Week by Hannah Davenport.
The industry journalist wrote: “In its latest financial statement on Companies House, made up until 31 January 2025, the business had £142,580 owed to creditors due within one year. The phone at Mark Two Print appears to have been disconnected.” She added that the 13 staff were all made redundant at the Lancashire outfit.
Writing for the same publication Jo Francis reported on the huge debts left by another printing company UYR – this time in Yorkshire. She noted: “UYR owed unsecured creditors more than £1.5m and finance providers nearly £1.6m at the time of its collapse, according to its administrators. The firm, based in South Kirby near Pontefract, ceased trading in April after attempts to find a buyer drew a blank.”
Liquidators Begbies Traynor Group have looked to realise the sale of two warehouses associated with UYR to help to recover some of the monies owed to creditors. Jo Francis reported on the shocking level of debts which have been blamed on Covid, a bad debt and reduced sales. The sums she reported are eye-watering with secured creditors Bizcap owed £566,987, RBS Invoice Finance owed £761,799 and NatWest Bank chasing £253,000 – with an expected shortfall to cover the total of more than the £1.58m in total.
If that was bad enough the 94 staff were left with a shortfall of £176,352 in money owed while the taxman was in hock for £833,108 for unpaid PAYE and VAT. And for UYR’s unsecured creditors – well they were left high and dry as they were owed £1,532,742. Ian Carrotte of ICSM said this was a massive level of debt and as so often it is the suppliers and staff who have lost out.
Print Week’s Richard Stuart Turner has reported on Aylesbury based mailing house GB Mail. The firm has ceased trading and is set to be placed into voluntary liquidation he wrote. Managing director Ghadami told Printweek: “Following a sustained downturn in workload, together with challenging trading conditions and wider economic pressures, the directors of GB Mail have taken the difficult decision to place the company into voluntary liquidation.”
Print Week confirmed the company ceased trading on July 3, 2026, and had instructed insolvency practitioner Robert Day and Company to undertake the insolvency process. On the same date the trade publication reported: “Derbyshire point-of-sale specialist Derwent Displays has filed a Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators.”
ICSM’s Ian Carrotte said it was looking like a bleak summer as more printing go to the wall with the latest one Crewe Colour Printers of Sandbach in Cheshire hitting the buffers and appointing liquidators in mid June. The firm reported by Hannah Davenport of Print Week are believed to own an estimated £709,000 to unsecured creditors. Ian Carrotte said this was a huge blow to suppliers as bad debts can trigger a financial crisis for many firms wiping out potential profits or worse. Just to underline the point ICSM noted Print Week’s report on Ryedale Printing Works in Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire who ceased trading in May with an estimated shortfall of around £2m with ‘trade and expense creditors were owed just over £165,000’.
For more details of these company failures and on the print business in general visit https://www.printweek.com/
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