Loop set to appoint administrators

Loop Print has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators and its current trading status is unclear.

The Sheffield-based litho and digital operation issued a notice on 3 April, which named Shulmans in Leeds as the solicitors overseeing the case.

As recently as August last year, Loop installed a new 1.6m Mimaki UCJV300-160 wide-format inkjet system to spearhead the next step in the emergence of its wide-format offering.

Speaking to PrintWeek at the time, managing director Chris Gray said he planned to end 2018 by taking measures to keep Loop “ahead of the game” amid what he described as a “very difficult marketplace”.

Loop ran a B2 Komori Lithrone S29 with coater in its litho wing, which was installed to replace a Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 in 2016, alongside a Speedmaster SM 52 at its 1,490sqm factory.

The trading status of the company is currently unclear, with its phone line going unanswered. At last reckoning, there were 22 people working at the business.

A spokesperson for Shulmans said it was unable to comment on the situation at the time of writing.

Earlier this month, fellow Sheffield operation Evolution Print entered administration after 23 years in business. Administrators at Wilson Field made 23 staff redudant following appointment, with seven employees retained at the time to complete work in progress as a buyer was sought.