UK payments firm SP Group fights for survival
UK-based payments firm SP Group has called in the administrators as it seeks to stay alive in a very competitive market.
The company has appointed Allan Graham and Matt Ingram, both of Duff & Phelps, as administrators to the firm in an effort to turn around the downward trend.
SP Group, which is based in Redditch in the West Midlands, employs 371 staff and provides point-of-sale (PoS) and display solutions to retails.
St Ives sold the businesses last March for £6 million to SelmerBridge, an acquisition vehicle set up by French investor Landry Kouakou. This deal also included field marketing agencies Tactical Solutions UK and Flare, and large format graphics business, Service Graphics.
SP Group has suffered from a significant decline in turnover following the loss of key customer contracts last autumn and a further decline in customer support since the acquisition.
“This has adversely impacted the cashflow and performance of the business in what is already a highly competitive market,” says Graham. “This, combined with the increasing uncertainty impacting both the retail and hospitality sectors, is a contributing factor in why SP Group has gone into administration.”
The administrators have said that as part of the reorganisations, the firm is actively engaging with customers to understand their individual requirements, and to preserve as much of the business as possible. However, job losses are bound to happen.
It is worth noting that none of the companies involved in the acquisition in March are being affected by SP Group’s hardships.
