BPA Print Group boss Mark Shergill will buy the stricken Focus Press, riding in to save it from liquidation, but likely at the cost of significant job losses and plant closures.

Shergill has emerged as the last man standing in a three-headed contest for Focus, including print management company TMA under the guidance of industry identity Bob McMillan, whose bid fell through over the weekend. The identity of the third bidder remains unknown.

This is Shergill’s fourth buyout of a distressed print firm in the past year. Last April he bought 110-year old Melbourne offset printer BPA Print Group, and Gold Coast commercial printer Dynamic Print Communications out of receivership, with the latter owing more than $500,000 to creditors. Three months later he bought the assets of another Melbourne printer, 153-year-old Troedel-Docucopy.

Focus managing director David Fuller has confirmed there will be job losses across all of its four sites resulting from the deal, including the new $8m Canberra plant opened in November last year and the $6.1m government funded Wollongong facility opened earlier this year, but details are still being worked out.

Stuff cuts are almost certain to be heavy with the Focus plants at Matraville and South Strathfield plants touted to close, sources inside the company say large numbers of staff have already been told they will lose their jobs imminently.

Sources indicate the staff entitlements may not be paid. Trade suppliers are also unlikely to see any of their cash.

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Shergill, who also owns Print Warehouse which is located near to the Focus' South Strathfield facility, has inspected the Wollongong and Canberra sites in the past couple of days and will visit Matraville soon before the deal is closed. Discussions will Fuller will continue to facilitate an orderly transition.

Shergill, also the owner of NewTone which now operates out of BPA’s Burwood, VIC facilities, has since moulded his five businesses into a leaner and more efficient 50-staff entity spanning three states – merging sites, adding finishing equipment from the Geon and Vegas Press auctions, and hiring new staff where needed.

Focus’ trouble began six months ago when it decided to up its prices and sell on quality so it could turn a profit after not making much money on jobs it had to discount too heavily in the industry’s ongoing price wars.

Price-focused clients abandoned Focus and the company cut off two dozen late paying customers. Focus was also struggling with an insurance claim for the KBA offset press at its Wollongong plant which left the site without its main press for months.

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As unpaid bills to suppliers mounted, many including all big three paper merchants, pulled the plug – Spicers, which is apparently owed about $2.3m, even removing consignment stock from at least two Focus sites on Friday morning – leaving the company without the stock to carry out major jobs.

As reported by ProPrint, the situation came to a head when staff were told to stay home on Friday and Focus started actively shopping itself to potential buyers.

With the effort to avoid liquidation successful, the industry waits to see what will become of the prominent company that opened two new plants just a few months ago.

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