Business

The collapse of a deal to sell Reed Print and Design's Washington site paved the way for the company entering into administration on Tuesday (26 August), it has emerged.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which is handling the case, has also confirmed that all 128 staff employed at the Tyne and Wear-based company have been made redundant.

The cuts follow the 20 staff that are understood to have left following the start of the 90-day consultation period, which began in May.

Paul Reed, business development manager at Reed Print and Design, said the dropping out of a potential buyer coupled with poor market conditions prompted the company's demise.

A statement from PwC said the printer had "suffered from the adverse and well documented problems in the printing and packing industry in recent months".

It added in reference to the land deal: "The company had embarked upon a restructuring programme in order to address the financial difficulties it was in.

"However, this process was unable to be completed and the directors called the administrators in on Tuesday."

Steve Ellis and Ian Green, joint administrators of PwC, are currently attempting to sell the business, although PrintWeek understands no buyer has yet come forward.

Reed Print and Design was established in 1968 and moved into the newly built site in December 2005 following a fire at its former premises, also in Washington.

The blaze, which hit the printer in November 2003, completely destroyed the businesses' 2,500sqm production unit, resulting in the opening of the current site two years later.