Almost 80 jobs at Drogheda-based Boylan Print, the country’s biggest print producer of mail shots, brochures and magazines including the RTE Guide, and another company dependent on Boylan Print, have been saved on Thursday by a court’s acceptance of a survival plan in Examinership.
Barrister Stephen Walsh, counsel for joint examiners Colin Gaynor of Resolute Advisory and Micheal Leydon of Outlook Accountants, outlined to Judge John O’Connor in the Circuit Civil Court the duo’s scheme to save Boylan Print and a number of other firms dependent on Boylan business.
Barrister Ross Gorman, for the company, Dermot Cahill SC, counsel for Revenue, and Arthur Cunningham, representing Typeform Repro, one of the companies, with 17 workers, potentially saved under the examinership, told Judge O’Connor their clients were backing the survival plan for Boylan Print.
The multi-award-winning print business, whose clients include Aer Lingus, RTE, Musgraves and The Irish Times, sought urgent court protection from its creditors in November last year after it had become clear it could no longer pay its debts.
Boylan Print cited the impact of Covid-19 and spiralling energy costs in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the sources of its financial difficulties
The family-run business has €9 million plus in liabilities, including €4.3 million due to secured creditor Bank of Ireland and over €5 million due to unsecured creditors, including warehoused Revenue debt and €504,213 owed to the ESB.
Under the survival plan negotiated by Gaynor and Leydon two family directors, Mary Boylan and Gerard Boylan Senior, will step back from running the company into the future.
The business services 80 per cent of operators in the Irish magazine market and supplies the entire Irish newspaper industry with glossy weekend magazines. It recently diversified into cardboard printing for the food industry, with bluechip clients such as Musgraves, Carroll Meats and The Happy Pear.
Other customers include Independent Newspapers Group, the Irish Farmers’ Journal, PRL (Penneys/Primark), Harvey Norman, Homestore & More and Carton Brothers (Manor Farm).
Many of the company’s 61 employees have been with the business for over 20 years and their jobs have been saved in the scheme of arrangement with creditors.
Judge O’Connor, accepting the joint examiners’ proposals, congratulated all concerned in saving so many jobs through the survival package achieved.
