Melbourne-based trade printer Whirlwind Print and sister company Whirlwind Print (NSW) have gone into liquidation just days after managing director Andrew Cester told staff in an email that he was selling the business. Separate ASIC notices posted on Wednesday said Whirlwind and its NSW branch had appointed Andrew Hewitt and Ahmed Bise from accounting firm Grant Thornton as joint liquidators. The move comes after weeks of speculation about the future of the leading trade printer. More to follow.
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| Whirlwind Print's Andrew Cester with the company's main press, a Komori Lithrone G40P |
Previously, Wide Format Online reported:
Whirlwind Print, the Melbourne-based trade printer, is negotiating for its sale, according to an internal email to staff from managing director Andrew Cester sighted by Wide Format Online. While the email states 'selling the business' - the likely scenario is that the assets will be sold while the business itself faces an uncertain future and creditors an equally uncertain prospect of recovering what is owed to them.
Whirlwind moved into the NSW market in 2017 with the acquisition of renowned Sydney offset and digital printer Lindsay Yates Partners (LYP) – a deal that has not gone entirely smoothly according to one insider. LYP went into voluntary administration in May 2018, following the sale agreement with Whirlwind. This tends to indicate the acquisition was primarily for assets rather than the on-going business.
Shortly after the LYP acquisition, Whirlwind’s long-serving sales director Gis Marven departed and one year later joined arch-rival trade print group CMYKhub as a board member and ‘executive consultant.’ CMYKhub has emerged as the likely buyer of Whirlwind but mystery surrounds why the LYP Sydney acquisition is aparently not included. Sources indicate the buy-out may not have been fully settled. The fate of LYP's highly-specc'd Heidelberg B1 press is also unknown, with some saying it 'went to Whirlwind in Melbourne' while others say it was sold off at a profit. Meanwhile Lindsay Yates & Partners, according to ASIC, remains in 'external administration' with a registered office in Mona Vale, NSW. A statutory report by the Liquidator of insolvency was lodged on 27th September 2018.
Cester’s email confirms that negotiations were underway for the sale of the business and the speculation among staff was that CMYKhub was the suitor. He assured staff it is ‘business as usual’ in the lead up to producing jobs for the Christmas build-up. It now appears that this statement was somewhat optimistic.
While Whirlwind did not actively address the trade wide-format sector, CMYKhub does have a very successful division in that area with Agfa and Mimaki roll printing technologies. Access to Whirlwind's client base would no doubt introduce wide format into the mix.
A great deal of the future of former Whirlwind staff and creditors would appear to now be in the hands of CMYKhub, and the true structure of the deal that has been executed.
Update: In a new email on Monday afternoon, Cester told customers that future jobs should be ordered through CMYKhub:
On behalf of The Whirlwind Team we would like to thank our customers for supporting us for over twenty years.
All products ordered to date will be completed and delivered in the coming days.
For any orders required moving forward we recommend where possible to order through your local CMYKhub.
We are still here answering phones, taking orders and producing work so please call/email if you need assistance.
Regards,
Andrew Cester
CEO Whirlwind Print
