More than 600 jobs lost across the North as print company Communisis collapses

Northern operations of print firm Communisis have closed, resulting in 638 job losses in the wake of moves towards digital statements for bank customers.

The collapse of the supplier to high street banks has led to the shut-down of facilities in Liverpool, Cramlington, Northumberland, and at its Leeds headquarters. Administrators at Interpath Advisory confirmed more than half of the firm's 1,000-strong UK workforce were told they had lost their jobs.

But Communisis' Brand Deployment business, which provides marketing services for major brands, and its Customer Experience arm, which provides secure print and mailing service to banks and public institutions have been sold to former rival Paragon Customer Communications, trading as Paragon. That move has saved 581 jobs and includes the Communisis business Twelve, Editions and Vox Group.

The collapse of Communisis follows a failed rescue bid for the loss-making business which was dealt a blow when its former US-based parent, OSG Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy status last year. Communisis subsequently split from OSG but suffered contract losses and most recent accounts for 2021 show it had faced operating losses of more than £6.5m.

Administrators said the print sector had experienced unstoppable decline amid the move to digital tech, while production costs including energy and paper prices had provided further pressure. They also pointed to a digital transformation - led by Indian multinational Tech Mahindra - having proven to be more complex and costly than forecast.

The total job losses include 256 at the Leeds base, 196 at its Liverpool location, 37 in Cramlington and seven in Copley.

Stephen Absolom, managing director at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, said: “First and foremost, we recognise that this will come as a devastating blow to those Communisis workers who have been impacted by redundancy. Our immediate priority will be to work with all affected employees to ensure that the full range of support is available to them.

"We will be making contact with Communisis’ key competitors, customers and other companies who work in this space to enquire around possible employment opportunities for staff. We will collate all relevant information, including contact details such as telephone numbers and hotlines, and we will also be speaking as a matter of urgency with the Job Centre Rapid Response Unit. We are also liaising with the Insolvency Service in relation to the timing of redundancy payments via the Redundancy Payments Service.”

James Clark, managing director at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator added: "The transaction with Paragon enables the historically profitable Brand Deployment business to move forward under new ownership, as well as ensuring the continuity of service to Lloyds Banking Group. The complexity of the Communisis business means that this transaction is the culmination of many months of hard work from a wide range of stakeholders. We’d like to thank each of them, in particular the Communisis workforce who have maintained service levels to customers under extremely challenging circumstances. In addition, the support and efforts of the Communisis’ customers, suppliers, as well as the Pensions Trustees and regulatory bodies, have ultimately enabled this agreement with Paragon to be reached today.”