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A bid by the management team of Butler & Tanner Printers to acquire the stricken Somerset-based concern has got under way with initial discussions taking place with administrators Hacker Young, who were appointed last week.
The team, led by Kevin Sarney, who has been with the company for 12 years, is being advised by Target Corporate Finance and is looking for potential funders to rescue the business.
Sarney said: “The company made good profits for the 15 years to 2003. Then like so many other UK printers the business suffered a dramatic downturn due to a high cost base, a pension deficit and, not least, overseas competition.” He continued: “Butler & Tanner is the only realistic provider of volume colour books in the UK and competes against a handful of European manufacturers.”
The news comes as former Butler & Tanner employees, who were laid off by post at the end of last month, have lodged a petition at the Birmingham District Registry of the High Court seeking to claim unpaid wages.