James Byrne Printing (JBP) was bought by Bournemouth Colour Press (BCP) managing director Ian Shenton around two years ago from its previous owner Anthony Beck, who was approaching retirement. 

JBP officially ceased trading on 24 March, with advisory firm Bishop Fleming set to host a creditors’ meeting on 18 April.

A spokesman for Bishop Fleming said: “Bishop Fleming has been instructed by the directors of James Byrne Printing to assist with placing the company into Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation.

“The company ceased trading on 24 March 2017 with all staff being made redundant. Resolutions confirming the liquidation and the appointment of a liquidator will be dealt with at meetings of the members and creditors of the company to be held on 18 April 2017.”

While the business has already closed its doors, Ian Davey, managing director of financial adviser Caldana, who is advising Shenton, said there was still the potential for a “rescue package” for its 14 staff and some of its assets.

According to Shenton, JBP had been struggling for some time due to tough trading conditions. He had attempted to improve its fortunes by relocating it from its Fordingbridge, Dorset premises to a modern unit on the same industrial estate as BCP. However, this had resulted in the business being served with a £107,000 'dilapidation fee' by the factory's landlords as the facility had not been upgraded for 38 years.

Shenton managed to restore the premises for around £55,000, and had hoped to relocate JBP’s staff and machinery to its new Poole unit last September. However, an error by the new site's landlord meant the building had been double-leased and he was told they could not relocate the business until March 2017.  

According to Shenton, the tough trading conditions combined with the delayed move and its associated costs meant that it was no longer tenable to continue to trade JBP as a standalone business forcing him to close the firm. Bournemouth Colour Press is unaffected by the move.

Shenton is currently in talks with Xerox to transfer the lease for JBP’s iGen digital press, which is under cross corporate guarantee, over to BCP.

He added that he also hoped some jobs could be salvaged from the business, but that he could not comment further until after the creditors' meeting.

Shenton said that he was by far the highest-owed creditor to the business and that he had put his “blood, sweat and tears” into trying to save JBP.

“I have done everything I can to keep James Byrne Printing running and through supporting it financially have lost tens of thousands of pounds both personally and through my other businesses,” he said. 

“I’ve had JBP for more than two years and have done everything in my power to try and take the company forward, but every time I think we are getting somewhere something else happens. In that time not a single penny has been taken out of the company by the owners and considerable time and money has been invested in it.”

Shenton said he was still using money from other companies that he owns to pay off existing bills for the former JBP premises and also to its creditors, of which him and his companies’ are the main creditors. Companies House lists Shenton as sole director of BCP. 

Eight-staff BCP turned over around £1.5m last year. It runs a Heidelberg Versafire digital press, an HP Scitex flatbed, an HP Latex large-format printer, a Canon fine art printer, laser cutting facilities and other finishing and signmaking equipment.