Vertical managing director Tom Curtin says he took over the business of GWPM because he is owed $6.6m by the failed printer and print manager.
The report to creditors by liquidator Gregory Andrews shows the company, which collapsed in October due to cashflow issues and overspending on a drawn-out software project, has debts of more than $10.5m including $3.8m to trade creditors.
Curtin says he helped finance Daniel and Frank De Matteo’s 2008 buyout of GWPM from its founder, AFL Brownlow Medallist Greg Williams, and has taken on the business in an attempt to recoup some of his huge losses.
[Related: More credit and debt news]
Sources close to GWPM say the De Matteo brothers paid more than they could afford for the business, drew big salaries, and began a software project aiming to unify GWPM with their AG Paper business, which became costly and dragged on for 6-8 months.
Curtin says he has taken on all the assets and retained about 30 staff, more than 80 per cent of GWPM’s former numbers, along with some from AG Paper.
According to the report, six staff are owed about $90,000 in entitlements, but Curtin says he will assume responsibility for money owed to those who have stayed on.
He says he owns a number of businesses and is not involved in the day-to-day of GWPM operations, which are being handled by veteran staff he retained.
While Curtin says he is ‘still getting a handle on everything’, the liabilities he has taken on include the lease on GWPM’s facility in Sunshine, Vic and he plans to consolidate the Vertical business into it.
“My aim is to stabilise the business and I have preserved the bulk of the work. Suppliers are understandably upset but I would like to keep them on, though not all have stayed,” he says.
[Related: More print management news]
Curtin’s TVI & Associates Pty Ltd holding company is the biggest creditor listed on the report, and only secured one, with the Australian Tax office owed almost $950,000.
Printers left out of pocket include, Docklands Press, owed $49,788, A Team Printing, $46,753, Dimension Imaging, $39,441, Paterson Press, $33,297, screen printer ADS Australia, $30,500, Centre State Printing, $17,404, CMYKhub, $12,261, and Whirlwind $7000.
Packaging and label printers were hit the hardest, with Visy owed $265,000, Labelmakers, $143,000, Orora $115,000, Budget Labels, $59,242, and Proficient Packaging $27,000.
All three paper merchants were hit, with BJ Ball owed $64,000, KW Doggett, $42,000, and Spicers $3102. EFI is down $58,000.
With Curtin taking on everything, GWPM has no further realisable assets and unsecured creditors will get nothing.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter