The investigation related to payments Loggenberg made to himself instead of his creditors when he was sole director of electronics distribution firm Mocor. Thirty-seven-year-old Loggenberg, who The Insolvency Service understands is now living in his native South Africa, acquired the electronics business in September 2010 just two weeks after Clowes had fallen into administration. In 2009 the entrepreneur bought Manchester-based Clowes and Maincolour in Macclesfield claiming he wanted to build a print network in the North West, however both failed, with Glossop Cartons ultimately rescuing Clowes and its 18 staff. Loggenberg then acquired Yorkshire-base Mocor on 24 September 2010 for £326,862 but put the company into voluntary liquidation on 30 June 2011 directly after discovering that his landlord was planning to apply for compulsory liquidation against him due to rent arrears. The company was liquidated owing creditors nearly £280,000. The Insolvency Service investigation revealed that after placing Mocor into voluntary liquidation, Loggenberg then immediately asked his solicitors to pay £82,000 into his bank account out of the company’s account, with a further £10,000 drawn out to pay off his own personal debts. It also found that despite frequent payment demands and legal proceedings being started, he had failed to pay his landlord rent arrears of £298,126 and business rates arrears of £119,077. Additionally on the date of purchase, Loggenberg paid himself £121,240. Loggenberg claimed that the payments he made to himself were for expenses and consultancy fees, but he was unable to produce documentary evidence in support of this claim, according to The Insolvency Service. As a legal requirement Loggenberg, who won prizes for entrepreneurship from the UK Institute of Directors and the Shell RBS Entrepreneur of the Year awards in 2000, has presented a legal undertaking to government, preventing him from acting as a company director in the UK from 9 August 2013 until 2024. Breaching the disqualification undertaking would be considered a criminal offence that could result in imprisonment, the Insolvency Service said. The Insolvency Service director of investigation and enforcement services, Vicky Bagnall, said: “The Insolvency Service will rigorously pursue company directors who seek to benefit themselves ahead of their creditors by extracting company funds when others are not being paid. “Limited liability protection is only be available to those who comply with their obligations as company directors. If those obligations are ignored, that protection will be withdrawn.”...

The €450m turnover business is being acquired by a consortium of investors in a €21m (£18.3m) deal that will also see CPI’s debt – previously more than €120m – reduced to just €15m. The majority investor is French conglomerate Impala, which is taking a 52% stake. BPI France, the French state-owned bank, is taking 24% with the remaining 24% held by private investors and management. Over recent weeks speculation about the future ownership of the group had heightened as it worked on refinancing its existing debt, and there were fears it could even be broken up. The takeover bid was tabled last week, although the identity of Impala Group was not known at the time. It did not have any print or related investments prior to the CPI deal. In a statement Impala chairman Jacques Veyrat said: “We want to show, along with the company’s management, that it is possible to pursue an ambitious, value-creating strategy in a declining and evolving sector.” CPI chairman Pierre-Francois Catté told PrintWeek: “Impala was introduced to us by an investment bank. They look at CPI as an asset that has a chance to really perform, but just needed some help. It’s been a very fast process.” CPI’s previous owners, a syndicate of banks, have written off their shareholdings and most of the old debt, barring the €15m. “The banks have acted very responsibly. I salute them because this has not been a very easy exercise,” Catté said. He added: “Our priority now is to stabilise the business and make sure everyone is comfortable. We didn’t lose any customers [during the refinancing/sale process]. Now we’re going back to day-to-day business and will make any structural adjustments as smoothly as we can. “Any changes will be made progressively. We are not planning any massive restructuring in the short-term,” he added. “We have new money to invest and still believe there’s a huge future in this industry. We will keep on investing in digital printing for the future.” CPI’s £117m UK operation includes Mackays, Antony Rowe, CPI Colour, William Clowes and Cox & Wyman. UK chief executive Francois Golicheff said he was delighted at the positive outcome: “We believe this announcement demonstrates our long-term commitment to supporting our customers,” he stated. “It’s good news for publishers and for our commercial print customers; they can be assured that we are totally focused on our strategy of investing and innovating to adapt in a fast-evolving market. I am determined that CPI UK will continue on a path of security, profitability and growth.” The takeover deal should be formally completed in the next few weeks....

The investigation related to payments Loggenberg made to himself instead of his creditors when he was sole director of electronics distribution firm Mocor. Thirty-seven-year-old Loggenberg, who The Insolvency Service understands is now living in his native South Africa, acquired the electronics business in September 2010 just two weeks after Clowes had fallen into administration. In 2009 the entrepreneur bought Manchester-based Clowes and Maincolour in Macclesfield claiming he wanted to build a print network in the North West, however both failed, with Glossop Cartons ultimately rescuing Clowes and its 18 staff. Loggenberg then acquired Yorkshire-base Mocor on 24 September 2010 for £326,862 but put the company into voluntary liquidation on 30 June 2011 directly after discovering that his landlord was planning to apply for compulsory liquidation against him due to rent arrears. The company was liquidated owing creditors nearly £280,000. The Insolvency Service investigation revealed that after placing Mocor into voluntary liquidation, Loggenberg then immediately asked his solicitors to pay £82,000 into his bank account out of the company’s account, with a further £10,000 drawn out to pay off his own personal debts. It also found that despite frequent payment demands and legal proceedings being started, he had failed to pay his landlord rent arrears of £298,126 and business rates arrears of £119,077. Additionally on the date of purchase, Loggenberg paid himself £121,240. Loggenberg claimed that the payments he made to himself were for expenses and consultancy fees, but he was unable to produce documentary evidence in support of this claim, according to The Insolvency Service. As a legal requirement Loggenberg, who won prizes for entrepreneurship from the UK Institute of Directors and the Shell RBS Entrepreneur of the Year awards in 2000, has presented a legal undertaking to government, preventing him from acting as a company director in the UK from 9 August 2013 until 2024. Breaching the disqualification undertaking would be considered a criminal offence that could result in imprisonment, the Insolvency Service said. The Insolvency Service director of investigation and enforcement services, Vicky Bagnall, said: “The Insolvency Service will rigorously pursue company directors who seek to benefit themselves ahead of their creditors by extracting company funds when others are not being paid. “Limited liability protection is only be available to those who comply with their obligations as company directors. If those obligations are ignored, that protection will be withdrawn.”...

The €450m turnover business is being acquired by a consortium of investors in a €21m (£18.3m) deal that will also see CPI’s debt – previously more than €120m – reduced to just €15m. The majority investor is French conglomerate Impala, which is taking a 52% stake. BPI France, the French state-owned bank, is taking 24% with the remaining 24% held by private investors and management. Over recent weeks speculation about the future ownership of the group had heightened as it worked on refinancing its existing debt, and there were fears it could even be broken up. The takeover bid was tabled last week, although the identity of Impala Group was not known at the time. It did not have any print or related investments prior to the CPI deal. In a statement Impala chairman Jacques Veyrat said: “We want to show, along with the company’s management, that it is possible to pursue an ambitious, value-creating strategy in a declining and evolving sector.” CPI chairman Pierre-Francois Catté told PrintWeek: “Impala was introduced to us by an investment bank. They look at CPI as an asset that has a chance to really perform, but just needed some help. It’s been a very fast process.” CPI’s previous owners, a syndicate of banks, have written off their shareholdings and most of the old debt, barring the €15m. “The banks have acted very responsibly. I salute them because this has not been a very easy exercise,” Catté said. He added: “Our priority now is to stabilise the business and make sure everyone is comfortable. We didn’t lose any customers [during the refinancing/sale process]. Now we’re going back to day-to-day business and will make any structural adjustments as smoothly as we can. “Any changes will be made progressively. We are not planning any massive restructuring in the short-term,” he added. “We have new money to invest and still believe there’s a huge future in this industry. We will keep on investing in digital printing for the future.” CPI’s £117m UK operation includes Mackays, Antony Rowe, CPI Colour, William Clowes and Cox & Wyman. UK chief executive Francois Golicheff said he was delighted at the positive outcome: “We believe this announcement demonstrates our long-term commitment to supporting our customers,” he stated. “It’s good news for publishers and for our commercial print customers; they can be assured that we are totally focused on our strategy of investing and innovating to adapt in a fast-evolving market. I am determined that CPI UK will continue on a path of security, profitability and growth.” The takeover deal should be formally completed in the next few weeks....

At the annual CWU policy forum in London this morning union members agreed to hold a strike ballot no later than September this year unless job protection and service agreements could be secured with Royal Mail. The ballot proposal would involve around 115,000 Royal Mail workers. Parcelforce Worldwide and Post Office staff would be excluded. CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward told delegates that unless drastic changes were made he couldn’t see negotiations with Royal Mail succeeding. “The current situation cannot go on. Postal workers are being squeezed in their workplaces, facing an uncertain future and changes to their pensions. “There hasn’t yet been a pay rise for staff this year despite healthy company profits of £403 million. But most importantly, we want protections for job security and terms and conditions and these are sadly lacking. “CWU is committed to holding serious negotiations with Royal Mail to achieve settlement on these issues, but efforts to date do not bode well. Ward said that Royal Mail had only begun to take negotiations seriously following the union’s consultative ballot in June at which 92% of nearly 83,000 respondents backed a boycott of downstream access providers and the withdrawal of co-operation on workplace changes. Additionally 99% backed to union’s demand for an over-inflation pay increase and 96% opposed privatisation. “We do not take the decisions to hold a strike ballot lightly. However, we will stop at nothing to ensure that the future of our members’ jobs – and of the services they deliver – are protected.” The union said it was confident that talks would continue over the next couple of weeks but that a resolution was “looking unlikely”. A Royal Mail spokesman said Royal Mail was disappointed that the CWU intended to call for a national strike ballot and that the organisation hoped to find a resolution. Referring to Royal Mail’s offer of an 8.6% pay increase over three years that was tabled earlier this year, he said: “A highly competitive pay offer and agreement has been proposed to the CWU and has been rejected. “Talks are on-going and we are committed to seeking an agreement. We believe that a ballot on strike action is inappropriate. Disrupting the service Royal Mail provides to its customers is not helpful. “Royal Mail operates in a very competitive market, especially in the parcels market. We recognise that customers have a choice and can move their business very quickly. We want to reach agreement with the CWU as soon as possible to give customers and employees continued stability.”...