Administrators in at all Alderson Group trading divisions

The remaining four Alderson Print Group companies have been placed into administration, bringing to an end weeks of speculation over the future of the company.

A statement from the Molesey-based group said that administrators were appointed to Alderson Brothers Printers, Alderson Digital London, Alderson Point of Sale, and Don Dawson PLC on 14 September.

While it appears that ABP Web has ceased trading, the statement said that the other four divisions were continuing to trade while "options are being pursued by interested parties".

John Whitfield and Benjamin Wiles of Duff & Phelps were appointed joint administrators to ABP Web on 31 August, neither of the administrators have been available for comment since their appointment and at this stage it is unclear if they are also administrators of the five other trading companies.

Alderson's woes began last month, when the company accused Barclays of partially withdrawing its CID facility as result of a claim the company was filing over the miss-selling of a mortgage swap, something denied by Barclays.

Around 90 staff lost their jobs at the company’s web division in the following weeks, but the company vowed to fight to save the remaining 160 jobs at the group's companies. However, the company drew criticism from staff and clients for alleged non-payment of weekly wages and a complete breakdown in communication - charges the company strongly refuted.

In a statement from Ron and Peter Alderson, the company said: "With the help and dedication of our staff, we have done all we can to minimise the effects of the last few weeks to all of our stakeholders and would like to thank all of those people who have supported us over our many years of trading.

"We are hopeful that the administrators will recognise the value and level of interest in our staff, suppliers and clients and will be working hard to achieve a positive outcome for all concerned."

According to a person claiming to be an APG employee who called PrintWeek this morning [17 September], staff have arrived on site today but have not been given any work and have not been updated by management on the latest situation.

Meanwhile Neil Alderson told PrintWeek that his new company Alderson & Co, formed on 3 September, was not a possible acquisition vehicle and has no association with the Alderson Print Group.

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