Glasgow-based Picardy Media Group is confident that its production, post-production and corporate arms will remain going concerns despite the company going into receivership at the end of January, writes Sam Espensen.
The digital media and post-production group blamed its misfortunes on a lack of adequate new business in the run-up to Christmas.
Managing director and majority shareholder Ian Hogg left the company along with the other directors last week, but general sales manager Bill Fairweather remains.
Discussing what went wrong, Fairweather revealed: "The company had ambitious growth plans that unfortunately were set against the bad timing of the recession." It was the commercials and corporate end of Picardy's post work that suffered, he said, but it was "adverse trading conditions across the group" along with "acquisitions and growth set against bad timing" which led to bigger problems.
Both the post arm and the corporate arm of the group are still trading and Fairweather is cautiously optimistic about their future. He believed that there are a lot of experienced people working in the post arm, and that it's "business as usual. The same people are running it as always have. I think it's a viable business." He also revealed that the corporate arm is finishing work in progress, but could not comment further.
Receiver Grant Thornton issued a statement to creditors this week explaining that an "investigation is taking place into the viability of the company as a going concern". The outcome of the investigation will decide whether the company, or parts of it, continues trading. The 30-strong staff await decisions about redundancy, but it is not yet known how many jobs will be lost.
There is also concern about the company's ability to pay its creditors, as freelancers have revealed to Broadcastthat monies are outstanding from as far back as September. Fairweather stressed: "No one goes into receivership without owing money. Knowing the business, I would be personally very concerned about everyone getting paid, and I wouldn't like anything hanging round our necks. I'm not in a position to comment about what's going to happen, but I'm sure anyone who's been in touch has a genuine concern. We've all been affected and there's been redundancies in the company as well."
Grant Thornton was appointed on 30 January but it has not been called in to either of the two subsidiaries in Edinburgh and Knutsford. All staff contracts are being honoured and a declaration on the company's website stated that it's "business as usual".
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