Hobs Repro swallows Call Print’s assets to create UK-wide network of printing branches
Hobs Repro has swallowed most of struggling competitor Call Print's assets, creating a UK-wide network of 24 printing branches, the company announced on Monday.
Cash flow problems forced the scanning, stationery and printing firm into administration on Friday. It was sold the same day in a pre-pack transaction that had been marketed for several weeks.
"It is a positive outcome for the group, securing its future, and forging the market leader … here in the UK," Phil Duffy, of administrator Duff & Phelps, said in a statement.
The administrator will wait until the assets have been sold to assess what went wrong for Call Print. However, it said that cash flow showed the company could not survive in the medium term.
Call Print turned over around £10m during the year ending March 2018, down approximately £5m from its previous financial year.
Hobs Repro has bought most Call Print branches, and some remaining UK sites have attracted interest, a spokesperson for Duff & Phelps said. Local insolvency legislation may complicate the sale of Call Print's Dubai assets, however.
Call Print has yet to make any redundancies, but there could be a risk of layoffs if sites cannot be sold. Hobs Repro did not immediately comment on potential job losses.
Craig Horwood, managing director of Hobs Repro, said: "I am delighted to welcome the Call Print team into the Hobs group. Together we will be much stronger and both sets of clients will benefit from new services that will be made available."
The acquired branches will be gradually rebranded as Hobs Repro, which will retain the Call Print name for the managed services division.