ICSM Pint Industry Insolvency News: Founded during wartime Britain struggling Ovenden Papers is acquired by industry juggernaut Antalis
By Harry Mottram: Last month the world of paper and card sales was rocked with the news that Ovenden Papers was acquired out of administration by the far larger Antalis. The Harlow based firm founded in 1943 had seen profits plunge in the last couple of years with a pretax loss of more than £1m last year prompting Ovenden to post a notice of intention to appoint an administrator on September 18th, 2026.
Print Week’s Richard Stuart-Turner reported: “Michael John Magnay and Michael Denny from Alvarez & Marsal Europe were subsequently appointed as administrators of the company the following day, on 18 September, the same day as the Antalis acquisition.”
The journalist said that ‘in its most recently filed full accounts at Companies House, made up to 31 March 2025, Ovenden Papers reported sales of £37.9m, down 17.3% year-on-year, and a pre-tax loss of £1.26m, compared to a pre-tax profit of nearly £40,000 the previous year. At the time it had 54 employees.’
Ian Carrotte of ICSM said this was very sad as Ovenden Papers had been an important part of the paper and card industry as well as supplying envelopes and assorted related products. He said the firm had faced various problems including inflationary pressures, higher interest rates and increased operating costs with energy hikes in particular hitting the company which had seen margins cut in the previous financial year.
Print Week reported that Nick Thompson, regional managing director at Antalis UKI, had said: “While it is disappointing to see a long-established business such as Ovenden Papers Ltd enter administration, we are pleased to have been able to acquire its assets and trade and provide a route forward.
“Ovenden Papers has established customer relationships, experienced employees and valuable market knowledge. Our immediate priority is to provide stability and continuity for customers, suppliers and employees while we undertake a detailed review of the business and its operations.
“We see opportunities to build on the strengths of Ovenden Papers and combine these with Antalis’ product portfolio, distribution network and wider resources. We look forward to working with the team and customers.”
The paper and packaging juggernaut is part of the Kokusai Pulp & Paper Group, a worldwide leader in Papers, Packaging and Visual Communication distribution headquartered in Japan and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In Europe and Latin America, Antalis is a leading B2B distributor of products and services in Papers and industrial Packaging, and number two in the distribution of Visual Communication media. Headquartered in the Paris area (France), Antalis operates in 31 countries serving over 100,000 customers with a team of 4,000 employees and breakthrough e-commerce solutions.
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