Mercedes Waratah owner Moody Aboughattas has rejected reports that he is now running Michael Wu’s collapsed digital print business On Demand.

Wu has placed On Demand in voluntary administration and it is understood 30 staff were asked to leave last week as he sought to wind up the business.

Speaking to Australian Printer, Moody Aboughattas denies that Mercedes Waratah is running the business in the interim until a new owner is found, and says he has not had any contact with Wu.

“I really have nothing to do with On Demand and I have never interfered with it and have never had any interest in it,” he says.  

Australian Printer has attempted to contact On Demand’s appointed administrator Matthew Gollant of Rodgers Reidy to find out who is currently running the business but he did not respond by deadline.

However, Moody has not ruled out the possibility of Mercedes Waratah buying On Demand, he says, “We are one of many people who have their eye on it and when it goes up we will see what happens.”

Moody claims On Demand failed due to poor business management on Wu’s part and mounting debt owed by Wu’s three operations On Demand, Longbeach and Ability Press across the Victorian print industry.

The downfall of On Demand follows a week after Longbeach Printing closed its doors and two weeks after Wu’s former business partners Moody and Abbey Aboughattas dismissed Wu from their Docklands Ability Group. 

They claim Wu was not upfront about figures when the trio merged their businesses and purchased Mercedes Waratah last year.

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