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7th September 2008

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Butler & Tanner could re-open next week

02.07.08 Tom Holman

Butler and Tanner's management buyout team has called on UK publishers to show their support for the British printing industry after the last-ditch rescue of the printer this week. The Felix Dennis backed buyout could see the printer re-open as early as next week.

"If publishers are serious about wanting a colour printing industry in the UK, then this is the time to show it," said Kevin Sarney, former B&T director and leader of the m.b.o. team, which was backed by maverick poet and entrepreneur Felix Dennis. Escalating fuel costs, green issues and the poor exchange rate of the pound in Europe meant it was an ideal time for publishers to bring their printing home from the far east and eastern Europe, he said. "Why pay more and more to transport books around the world when we can print them on our doorstep?"

The team hopes to re-open Butler & Tanner by the end of next week, but Sarney stressed that talks with financial backers, landlords and staff unions had to be completed before the presses could start rolling again.

The eleventh hour m.b.o. was struck late on Tuesday after days of talks to secure the future of the troubled printer: the deal superceded the auction of the company's assets by administrator Peter Kubik. The £500,000 deal for the firm's assets and the right to occupy its Frome headquarters was backed by Dennis, founder of the Dennis Publishing group. Sarney said Dennis' late intervention had rescued the m.b.o. deal after administrators had rejected earlier bids as too low. Dennis' role in the new company is still to be agreed. Sarney is joined in the buyout team by fellow B&T directors Peter Maunder, Dave Mills and Jeremy Snell.

"There are lots of pieces to be put in place, and we've got to make sure the structure is right so that this is viable in the long-term. There's a lot of hard work in front of us."

The news of the deal was greeted with relief by B&T's former employees and unions. Sarney said he hoped "a considerable number" of staff could return to their jobs but that final numbers would depend on the new firm's order books. About half of the staff have found work elsewhere since the administrators were called in in May, but many are thought to be in temporary employment and keen to return to the new-look business.

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