Price confident in Paperlinx future

Price told PrintWeek that he had been concerned that the global company would "go broke" unless tough action was taken.

But he added: "There’s some great potential in this business now that some hard decisions have been made and the company is now poised for growth."

Price’s recent appointment to the Paperlinx board signals a turnaround for the company following tense relations over the past few months.

Prior to an EGM held by Paperlinx management in March, a letter to shareholders expressed concerns about Price’s suitability as chairman, claiming that he had "delicate current relationships with key suppliers, credit insurers and lenders" and "no prior experience of restructuring a large international business operating in 25 countries".

But Price told PrintWeek that he had "no hard feelings" and suggested that, had he known about the restructures in place within the company, he would have accepted Paperlinx’s offer of the role before the EGM, at which Harry Boon was voted chairman.

Price stressed that he was "absolutely not" taking over as chief executive of the company following Toby Marchant’s departure.

He added: "I wouldn’t have joined the board unless I thought Paperlinx had a bright future.

"Since the EGM the board have done quite a bit of work and strengthened the company’s balance sheet significantly.

"The board have addressed my concerns and taken the hard decisions with regards to asset sales and the acceptance that there will be redundancies.

"Paperlinx is in the strongest position it has been in for several years and is well positioned to finalise the restructure and grow in key diversified markets."

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