Starleaton went into liquidation yesterday, with creditors informed in a statement titled ‘General Update on the Deed of Company Arrangement’ issued by Simon Cathro and Andrew Blundell from Cathro & Partners.
Here’s a timeline of movements since the company entered into voluntary administration in January last year:
19 January 2024: Starleaton surprises the industry entering voluntary administration – Sprinter was the first to break the story.
22 January 2024: Spicers signs distribution for Neschen consumable products, bringing the number of agencies shared by the two businesses to five – Neschen, Hahnemühle, Breathing Colour, Epson and Roland.
25 January 2024: Administrators for the Starleaton business request “urgent expressions of interest” ahead of the first creditors meeting for the company.
20 February 2024: Starleaton administrators issue a creditors report claiming the business was likely to be insolvent from mid-2023 and possibly as far back as April 2021.
“These last few years we understand coincided with the business attempting to grow the Capital and Service divisions, which had a significant impact on the trading performance and working capital of the business. According to historical financial analysis revenue grew by over $3 million between 2021 to 2023, peaking at $21.159 million, but due to an increase in total cost of goods sold, there was little change in the profit achieved,” the report stated.
15 March 2024: Ben Eaton promises to repay staff 100 per cent of their entitlements after creditors voted on a Deed of Company Arrangement with repayments of $33,333.33 per month.
20 March 2024: Former Starleaton executive Dale Hawkins appointed as managing director of new subsidiary Zünd Australia
22 March 2024: Stick on Signs was appointed distributor for Neschen Laminators. These products have been very successful, including several sales made at the recent PacPrint exhibition in Sydney.
5 April 2024: Zünd confirms it will work closely with the customers who paid deposits to Starleaton for cutting tables before the company went into administration.
6 April 2024: Starleaton’s biggest agency partner Zünd Systemtechnik AG terminates its distribution contract after confirming the company is owed $833,947 by the company.
17 April 2024: Ben Eaton issues an open letter to the industry apologising to customers and supply partners “caught up in the tragedy” and citing a number of factors that led to the company being placed into voluntary administration.
18 April 2024: Ben Eaton issued a further statement providing further background on the business stating that the company had “successfully avoided liquidation marking a pivotal moment with the implementation of a Deed of Company Arrangement. This achievement signals a profound turnaround for the company”.
24 June 2024: Spicers named exclusive distributor of Hahnemühle products – previously distributed by Starleaton.
26 September 2024: Starleaton commences a $1 million clearance sale of hardware and consumables from brands including Zünd, Neschen, Hahnemühle, Brett Martin, Canon and X-rite to provide the business with additional cash flow ahead of the quieter Christmas and New Year trading period.
8 October 2024: Starleaton confirmed it would look to launch new products in 2025 after confirming the company had continued to service 800 active customers since entering voluntary administration.
11 June 2025: Starleaton is placed into liquidation after failing to meet its monthly repayments promised to creditors.
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