The management of Soho's Red Post Production has completed a deal to buy the company, writes Will Strauss.

The management of Soho's Red Post Production has completed a deal to buy the company, writes Will Strauss.

Managing director Stephen Luther, creative director Gary Szabo and technical director Simon Leppington have purchased "almost 100%" of the company from the venture capitalists that currently have a majority stake. No financials details were revealed. Red has also applied for a "company voluntary arrangement" (CVA) and made eight members of staff redundant (Broadcast, 31.10.03).

Under the CVA deal, the company will pay its creditors from future profits. In the case of Red, a third of the company's debts from January 2003 will be paid back to creditors over a two-year period. Within a CVA the directors remain in control of the company and the business is given a fighting chance of survival.

Luther said "Red is a great business but it has been affected by market conditions and terms of investment. With a long-term future in view the directors have privately invested in the company and made cost reductions in order to have a viable business. We are all very positive about the future, otherwise we would not be putting our money where our mouth is."

The eight redundant staff - including three editors - will have to apply to the Redundancy Payments Service to receive their notice period money. But Red has offered several people freelance work in the interim.

Red, which has a post-production turnover of around£3m, employs 22 permanent and five freelance staff in Warwick Street in London.