Massive claim over Goodhead pension scheme

Goodhead Group's unsecured creditors are owed more than 100m, once a huge claim from the Pension Protection Fund is taken into account.

The group was put into administration in November 2012 ahead of the pre-pack sale to Sun European Partners that resulted in BGP and Stones the Printers becoming part of Polestar.

Unsecured creditors were owed more than £72m, and the latest report from joint administrators Allan Graham and David Standish at KPMG details an additional £36.3m claim from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) against the group’s pension scheme liability. 

This is a more than three-fold increase on the liability shown in Goodhead’s last accounts, where the figure stated was £10.3m. 

The administrators said they were "in the process of reviewing this claim".

The most recent actuarial valuation of the Goodhead pension scheme was carried out in June 2009, and it was supposed to be subject to this process every three years.

Goodhead’s accounts stated that an update to take into account the requirements of financial reporting standard FRS17 took place in May 2012.

If the claim stands the Goodhead Group pension will be one of the largest print-related schemes to enter the PPF.

Polestar’s own scheme also ended up there after it was hived-off from the group and then offloaded as part of Sun’s pre-pack takeover deal to buy Polestar in 2011. It had a shortfall of £103m.

Goodhead’s trade creditors including paper and ink companies were owed more than £9m. The only money available to them is a share of £195,000 for creditors of BGP, and £48,000 for creditors of Stones the Printers.

There is no money available for unsecured creditors of Goodhead Group.

The bill from KPMG for the administration costs thus far is more than £250,000.