The Bookseller.com

2nd December 2008

Dolan: 'we've heard nothing about B&T bid'

13.05.08 John Ryan

A bid to acquire Butler & Tanner by a team led by Kevin Sarney and other former employees of the stricken Somerset-based printer, has failed to materialise to date, according to Mike Dolan, chairman of MPI, Butler & Tanner's parent.

"They haven't made any offer at all and there can't be progress until an offer is made," said Dolan in response to the news that initial discussions were taking place between the Sarney team and administrators Hacker Young. Dolan added that he would be delighted if any bid led by Sarney were forthcoming, but that "as things stand, the administrators will proceed with the sale of the assets with a view to paying off the unsecured creditors".

Sarney, who had been with the company for 12 years, is being advised by the Bath office of Target Corporate Finance and is looking for potential funders to rescue the business. He 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."

Dolan said that he had had a single conversation with Target and that there had been no answer to the question of where rescue funding might come from.

Matt Eves, head of the Target team, said: "We are currently in discussions with potential funders and are looking to put together a rescue package. We want to get this done by the beginning of June." He added: "The longer the business is turned off, the harder it is to get it running operationally again."

The news comes as former Butler & Tanner employees, who were laid off by post at the end of last month, are understood to have lodged a petition at the Birmingham District Registry of the High Court seeking to claim unpaid wages. Dolan commented: "We are now five days after the purported high court claim was made and they haven't even communicated with us." The Bookseller tried to contact Unite, the union that has been supporting the claims of the former Butler & Tanner workforce, but nobody was available for comment.

John Ryan Printing Home MPI Mike Dolan Butler and Tanner Kevin Sarney

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