Direct mailing firm in administration 130 jobs affected at town company
A DIRECT mailing company that blamed the BBC’s Blue Planet for hitting sales has gone into administration - affecting 130 jobs.
Loughborough-based Sunline Direct Mail, which provides print, marketing and direct mail services, previously blamed a falling order book on a drop in demand for plastic wrapping after the David Attenborough series showed shocking film of the environmental damage they cause.
A spokesperson said the business was also suffering from the impact of new data protection rules, which had affected the amount of marketing mail sent by businesses.
Sunline has a head office at Weldon Road Industrial Estate, in Loughborough, and a packing and dispatch operation in Chartwell Drive, Wigston.
The business has been trading since 1978 and offers services such as mailing and polywrapping, data management, paper envelope enclosing, pick and pack and response handling.
Restructuring and advisory firm Moorfields Advisory has now been appointed administrators following a failed attempt to sell the business earlier this month.
A mailing division in Loughborough has ceased trading and the administrators want to keep a third party logistics - CYNC - operation in Nottingham running for a short period whilst customers make new logistics arrangements.
Simon Thomas, a partner at Moorfields Advisory, said: “It is unfortunate that we have been unable to find a buyer for Sunline Direct Limited.
“Unfortunately the rise in digital marketing and new legislation surrounding General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) are likely to hinder a number of printing and data companies.
“We will now facilitate the shutdown of the mailing division and explore a trade-out of the CYNC division.”
According to Companies House, Sunline turned over £7.9 million in 2016 - £1 million up on 2015 - but made a loss of £379,000.
Last year, turnover was down to less than £6.7 million with net liabilities of almost £2.6 million.
Earlier this month parent com- pany Chelverton Equity Partners said improved efficiency and automation had helped Sunline cope with a “continued gentle downturn in the direct mail polywrap market”.
It said there had also been investment over the past two years to grow the letter and paper part of the business to the point where they were expected to overtake plastic mail wrapping services next year.
However, at the time Chelverton said: “The impact of the introduction of the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) - as highlighted by the Royal Mail in its recent results, where it forecast a severe decline in volumes - coupled with the reaction to the plastics debate prompted by the BBC’s Blue Planet television series, have had an impact on the sector more than Sunline can stand in its current form.
“As a result, the order book is not filling at the rate that management would expect it to at this time of year for the ‘golden period’ from August to November, and the business is likely to require significant amounts of additional funding to move forward.”