Supplier of failed firm now fears for future
BUSINESS OWED £40,000 AFTER PRINTER SHUTS
THE managing director of a firm owed tens of thousands when Taylor Bloxham went under fears it might not survive the loss.
Ian Chamberlain, managing director of Tudor Specialist Print Finishers, said his business had been owed £40,000 by Taylor Bloxham Group, of Leicester. He is keeping his 18 staff in Wigston up-todate.
About 150 workers lost their jobs last Thursday when print, shop display and e-commerce specialist Taylor Bloxham Group went into administration – one day before their wages were due.
The group, which had been trading for eight decades and was based in Beaumont Leys, said it had faced mounting pressures following “severe cashflow pressures”.
Mr Chamberlain said: “How we will survive I do not know.
“If you take £40,000 away from a company the size of ours and also lose the work we were doing for them, it’s a double whammy.
“I’ve already told staff I do not know what I’m going to do.
“We’ve got some funds we can draw on, and work that is due in, but about 15 years ago we were owed £15,000, and had to lose two members of staff.
“We will keep the staff informed and if we can pay them, we will.”
Administrators were able to sell one of Taylor Bloxham Group’s four divisions, a mailshot specialist, Mailbox, saving 21 jobs.
Printer Taylor Bloxham, point of sale specialist Instore and warehousing, distribution and e-commerce division FastAnt – were closed.
Mr Chamberlain said Taylor Bloxham had “been a shambles for 10 years” and had been getting worse recently. “It started to follow a pattern, with phone calls not being answered and e-mails not being answered, and we started to feel like we were just a number on a spreadsheet,” he said.
“There are people that will be able to stand the losses or are insured against them, but there will be dozens of suppliers like us who will get nothing.”
Another Leicestershire supplier, who worked with the group for over a decade, said he was more than £10,000 out of pocket.
He said he had found it hard to speak to anyone at Taylor Bloxham Group since early December.
Administrators at FRP business advisors said: “The company has suffered severe cashflow pressures, which had become unsustainable.
“FRP had been working with the directors of the company on an accelerated sale process.
“However, ultimately, an appropriate offer was only received for the Mailbox division.
“The joint administrators will now focus on maximising returns for creditors and support for employees.”