Internet companies are very much back in vogue and the dotcom collapse in 2000 seems long forgotten. The growth of online newspapers and magazines has lined internet investors’ pockets with silver, but it has not been such good news for others.
With advertising and readers moving away from hard copy, the printing sector has been facing serious financial pressure. Pagination and advertising revenues have dropped and, with that, there has been a spate of collapses. Last year there were more than a dozen insolvencies in the UK printing sector, including New Jarrold Printing and Pillans & Waddies. Even the big players have faced financial distress and, in December 2006, the Polestar Group – Europe’s leading independent printing group – underwent restructuring.
