A printing firm in the South East has been placed into liquidation after experiencing cashflow difficulties.
Geneva Printing Solutions Ltd, based at Cranes Close in Basildon, Essex, specialised in a wide variety of large format litho printing, including posters, packaging, point-of-sale, direct mail and folded products such as maps and posters.
Greg Palfrey and David Blenkarn, partners in restructuring and recovery at Smith & Williamson, the accountancy and investment management group, have been appointed liquidators.
Mr Palfrey, national head of recoveries (regions), said: “Geneva was a well-established printing firm but was unable to recover from a significant bad debt suffered in early 2013.
“Geneva’s orders were often low-margin and on-demand, at highly competitive prices; this eroded profitability, further compounding cashflow problems.”
Mr Palfrey who works at Smith & Williamson’s South Coast office in Southampton, added: “It is always a sad day when you have to formally end a well-established company but the business was no longer commercially viable and so was left with no alternative. As part of this difficult process, regrettably, 13 staff have been made redundant.”
The case is the latest in the print industry for Mr Palfrey and his team, who are receiving more requests for advice and assistance from established companies within the sector.
Mr Palfrey said: “These businesses are increasingly competing against internet-based overseas operators with much lower overheads.”
Previous appointments included SV Two Digital Ltd in Beckenham, London, and Century Web Offset Ltd in Falmouth, Cornwall.
Work is on-going by Smith & Williamson following the Geneva liquidation appointment on July 31st.
