News
Administrator accepts Sarney's last ditch B&T rescue bid
Kevin Sarney's surprise eleventh-hour bid for Butler and Tanner has been accepted by administrator Peter Kubik, although a deal is a long way from being completed, Sarney has said.
Sarney's out-of-the-blue offer arose as the planned auction of the kit at the closed book printer came to an end. The auction raised over £700,000 and was set to end more than 126 years of book printing at the Frome site.
Kubik confirmed this afternoon that the management team's bid for the closed book printer was "on a par" with the proceeds raised from the auction.
However, Sarney was quick to play down the potential of the news, pointing out that there were "a number of hurdles" that needed to be achieved, that this was only "one piece in the jigsaw" and a deal was far from complete.
The surprise acceptance follows comments from the administrator in last week's PrintWeek that Sarney's original bid for the company fell well short of what was acceptable.
Butler and Tanner was closed by owner MPI on 26 April following a protracted and public dispute with the union, resulting in more than 270 job losses.
For more see printweek.com on Monday.
Sarney: there is still a long way to go
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Comments
Clive Keeble - 27 June 2008
Fantastic news for the Frome area and the booktrade.
BT Meatman - 27 June 2008
Sounds good!!
kev norris - 27 June 2008
best news ive heard all year brilliant well done the mbo
paul aven - 27 June 2008
Fantastic news Well done MBO
reggie reynolds - 27 June 2008
super news well done mbo
STEVEN ROGERS - 27 June 2008
well done to everyone concerned best news we have heard for a long time. Everyone knows you will have 110% from the employees they will want to prove to Mr Dolan that B&Ts was worth fighting for he might have dragged us down but we never gave up congratulations MBO reserve your seats for next years print awards because we are the best
john peel - 27 June 2008
It`s a true saying that you never appreciate what you have until you lose it, I was guilty and I am sure a lot of others were of taking Butler and Tanner for granted, moaning about this and moaning about that but my God when it went it was catastrophic, I soon realised what I once had.
Congratulations M.B.O.
Steve Newport - 27 June 2008
Brilliant news, well done to Kev Sarney and all the MBO team, it's been a long time coming but what a fantastic outcome for Frome and the employees.
Patrick Curran - 28 June 2008
Great News!
I was only having a drink with couple of my old B&T mates only last week.
A couple of questions come to mind though, a number of the sales guys have moved on to other firms, will they return with their work?
Indeed a couple of ex B&T guys have remained on the dark side and have remained with MPI with their contacts/knowledge in the fine art print world, will they return or be allowed to return?
kba topdog kba topdog - 28 June 2008
congrats to all concerned....after so many false starts i had my doubts if it would ever get off the ground,mbo team have proved me wrong.A company with such a skilled workforce is always worth fighting for,and i just hope mr dolan will one day will regret the awful mess he made of the business, and the lives of the people who worked there.
john peel - 28 June 2008
Having worked at Butler and Tanner for a very long time I know that the shop floor workforce are "par excellence". You only have to stroll through the reception area to see evidence of this with all the Print Certificates and Awards that adorn the walls in which ever direction you look. This, despite the fact that a lot of the kit throughout the works "has a tired look" to say the least.
As for Dolan Please,never darken our doorway again
kba topdog kba topdog - 28 June 2008
im wiv u mr peel........ the nation beware of this evil dictator( my opinion ) steer your ships well away from the evil clutches of mpi.........
paul rodgers - 28 June 2008
This is wonderful news i really hope the MBO team can get things up and running i know the former employees will give 110% to make this a sucess.
p.s i wonder what piecrust and the other smug tossers have to say now?
john peel - 28 June 2008
I would think that they will be conspicuous by their abscence from this board following the great news, they most likely will have slithered back under their stones from whence they came
Mike Prior - 28 June 2008
Best wishes to Kevin and the team, but let us not be under any false illusions, the printing industry both book production and commercial print in the UK is going through a very turbulent time, and the effect of Chinese and Spanish printing on the book trade is causing massive waves. Since the B & T demise in April, two other Bristol based printers/finishers have ceased trading, and neither of these companies as far as I know were involved in the book trade.
I was at B & T between 1969 and 1979, and at that time when Chairman Mao was in charge, (of China not B & T) the thought of the UK publishers giving China the chance to print books for the home market was inconceivable.
If B & T is to succeed under the new management the co-operation between the employees and the new management team is paramount.
Best of luck Kevin.
A redundant employee !!!! - 28 June 2008
As a now ex employee of Capital print, I wish you all the luck in the world to get up & running again.
Be under no illusion, it is going to be an extremely tough job, getting clients & suppliers back.I was only thinking last night how difficult it would be to get Capital up & running again so I can appreciate the task you have ahead of you. But I am 100% sure that you have the management & the workforce to make it happen
Can I also thank you guys for kind words & support to all my colleagues at Capital.
john peel - 28 June 2008
"A Redundant Employee" what ever you do don`t give up hope, we at Butler and Tanner didn`t although it was very difficult at times especially when we heard last week that the deal had fallen through.
Best of luck in your efforts from Frome here in Somerset and please keep us posted with any developments
STEVEN ROGERS - 28 June 2008
I think everyone knows it is going to be a difficult time for the mbo team they have an uphill challenge ahead of them but with the support of everyone concerned i am confident that B&Ts will rise from the ashes and be better. Mr Dolan tried to walk over everyone with not a second thought as to what it would do to each and everyone of us including the creditors(you only have to look at the list it is endless)to know this man is not a person to be tangled up with but if justice is done he might make breaking news on this page for the right reasons when he is made to pay for what he has done. I would like to thank everyone for their support and help over the last eight weeks it helped to know that not everyone thought Dolan was some kind of god and saw him for what he was. To everyone at Capital print dont give in keep fighting you must stick together best wishes and I hope you get justice good luck
Henry Piecrust II - 29 June 2008
Very good news, hopefully this will be a success and that many will regain their jobs.
I don't class myself as a "smug tosser" Mr Rodgers and was, if you can remember, only really frustrated by the lack of information to enable people to make up their own minds. (To be told that the union's position would only be told "face to face"
is hardly the friendly approach but anyway...)
I hope that B & T becomes a successful company and that the reasons (whatever they were) that caused Mr Dolan to walk away do not obstruct the way forward to future prosperity.
Good luck everyone.....
Gordon Ford - 29 June 2008
Mr Piecrust now your on our side expose yourself who are you?
Henry Piecrust II - 30 June 2008
Don't worry about me just get on and help Mr Sarney make B & T Mark 3 a success.
Today is the first day of the rest of your lives, make the best of it. Once again, good luck
Bye for now...
Hugh Jaynousse - 30 June 2008
One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Good luck with the MBO. I give it 12 months max!
STEVEN ROGERS - 30 June 2008
Mr Jaynousse you are entitled to your opinion but why are you so against B&Ts sucess is it that they may be competion with you and you feel threatend by them or is it that because you were so dambed arrogant before that you dont want to eat humble pie and admit that we were worth fighting for I think the mbo team will learn frompast mistakes not like Mr Dolan trying to blame the union for B&Ts closure when all the time he was planning to do it himself so if your not sure of the facts Hugh by now maybe its you thats suffering from insanity
P.S there is treatment available for lose of memory should you need some
Martin Davies - 30 June 2008
Good luck to the mbo team just remember you will need to give 110% from the top to the bottom
Well Done Sarney & co
Hugh Jaynousse - 30 June 2008
Apologies, good luck to B&T I am sure that Sarney&Co will have learnt from the mistakes of previous adminstrations. Just keep Unite out of the equation and you will have a good chance of sucess!
i worked for dolan and all i got was this lousy st - 30 June 2008
well done mbo team good news, see its the same old idiots putting a downer on things on here
Mark Hutton - 30 June 2008
Mike, sorry i mean Hugh, you seem to be a serial anti-unionist. Fair play it's a free country. I'm kinda anti- Mike Dolan when i let rip with my ten cents worth.
The difference being i've got the nuts to use my real name.
Sorry mate can't take you seriously whilst you hide behind an alias - thats just cowardice.
kba topdog kba topdog - 30 June 2008
its mr beaky................
ginger dyer - 30 June 2008
im sure its that mike whose slogan reads
WANT IT
BUY IT
CLOSE IT
BT Meatman - 30 June 2008
Oi pie-crust nice of you to show up again and hugh putting us all down. Better to stand up and fight rather than roll over and die !!! Well played MBO hope it all goes to plan. Lets all widdle on Dolans bon-fire hehe
Clive Keeble - 30 June 2008
This evening BBC Points West ran a major news item
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7481877.stm
I was somewhat taken aback to see Felix Dennis named publicly and hope that this disclosure does not jeopardise on-going talks.
Felix Dennis is a very astute entrepeneur ; his media interests are at the very cutting edge of latest technology with ezines etc. Felix Dennis is a very respected businessman ; and also a pretty decent poet !
http://www.dennis.co.uk/dennis_site/about/poem.php
I reckon 'Mr. Joe' would give a nod of approval at the prospects ahead.
KEITH ASHBY - 01 July 2008
This is encouraging news!
Having been in the book binding industry for over 15 years in the Midlands and moving to the South West 14 years ago to set up a finishing company, I have seen the decline in the industry over the last 10 years. It is nice to hear some positive news for a change!
Good luck to all staff I hope it works out!
Keith Ashby
Julie Cook - 01 July 2008
Let's put the pride back into print in the UK. Using UK printers and UK print finishers. All the best to the new B&T.
tony wells - 01 July 2008
Congratulations Kev. I wish you and all my friends and former work colleagues all the very best in this new chapter of Butler and Tanner. I look forward to seeing all those great titles with Printed in the UK back on the bookshelves
Jon Fennell - 02 July 2008
All the best to all, fingers crossed for the success of the MBO. Its up to all concerned to make it fly.
Market conditions against europe are fair, so make hay while the sun shines, before the exchange swings.
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