Signmaster latest PFI Group subsidiary to fall

Kelso-based Signmaster ED, a subsidiary of Rymack Sign Solutions (trading as PFI Group) has entered administration after months of uncertainty for employees around the future of the company.

This news tells of the tumultuous year it’s been for the Group following a series of administrations and an unfair dismissal tribunal having taken place in recent months.

Dating as far back as 2017, the Group has been building its portfolio within signage and wide-format print including retail and manufacturing with a number of acquisitions over the years.

However, issues at the Group began surfacing in May this year, as reported by Printweek, when PFI Group chief executive officer Darren McMurray came under fire for the dismissal of five former employees of PFI Group subsidiary Futurama.

The Group, which is made of a portfolio of sign and wide-format print brands, acquired Futurama back in 2020 however following the late filing of accounts and the financial future of the business reported to be under review, administrators were appointed from FRP Advisory on May 5^th.

In July, the Group landed itself in hot water once more after missing a payment for the acquisition of Grafenia’s (now Software Circle) manufacturing department, Manchester Works, the purchase of which was announced in May 2022.

The following month, it was revealed that Mardan Products was to cease trading with FRP Advisory appointed on August 16^th to oversee the administration of the company with around 12 employees reported to have been made redundant.

This was said to be due to a restructure at PFI Group with the creation of three divisions: print, signage, and retail.

Unfair Dismissal Tribunal

Early October saw the result of the employee tribunal following the dismissal of former Futurama employees Marc Edwards, chief executive officer; William Evans, finance director; David Hurley, operations and installation director; David Sharp, commercial director; and Terence Elrick, acting managing director after the former employees launched an unfair dismissal appeal.

This was heard at Leeds Employment Tribunal on October 10^th with the hearing finding no evidence of gross misconduct (the reason for dismissal cited by McMurray). The claimants were awarded almost £120,000 in unpaid wages, expenses, and holiday pay, as well as for notice pay and the statutory award for unfair dismissal (apart from Elrick due to less than two years’ service).

Sharp’s judgement for compensatory award for unfair dismissal will be set out in a separate judgement.

Following the hearing, Marc Edwards issued an open statement on LinkedIn where he described the situation as “bittersweet”.

The letter reads: “Without doubt the removal of all five members of the senior management team further destabilised the business of Futurama Limited (which Mr McMurray put into administration in May 2023). The action against us can only be described as a sham, in order to achieve a hostile management takeover, but subsequently failed to adhere to any of the ACAS protocols and failed to substantiate the claims of wrongdoing by the five directors.

“The whole saga has been bittersweet for me personally; although it’s great that we have won the tribunal case I would have preferred that Futurama continued to trade and that employees’ jobs had been retained.”

More Subsidiaries Enter Administration

Earlier this month, more subsidiaries of PFI Group sadly followed suit with Sign Plus comprising sister companies Jasmine and Lofthus recently having entered administration. FRP Advisory was appointed on Friday, November 3^rd and it is reported that 50 employees have been made redundant.

Also this month two more subsidiaries of PFI Group, Cestrian Imaging and Gardners, had their futures hanging in the balance with one having been saved.

Service Graphics has acquired Cestrian Imaging and has said it will ensure clients of sister company Gardners continue to receive the same service.

As a result of the purchase, Service Graphics has taken on the entire team and manufacturing capabilities of Cestrian Imaging.

Gardners was acquired by PFI Group in August last year but administrators from FRP Advisory have now been appointed at the company.

The future of Signmaster had been in question months before it entered administration with reports of staff not being paid and threats of eviction due to unpaid rent dating back to August this year. At the time, McMurray cited “significant bad debt” due to the administration of Futurama as the reason for this.

Sadly, the issues weren’t resolved and FRP Advisory has now been appointed.

Signmaster Administration a “huge relief”

Most recently, Signmaster ED is the latest PFI Group subsidiary to have fallen with administrators being appointed this week from FRP Advisory.

A source at the company has told SignLink that the administration comes as a huge relief due to “the uncertainty around jobs and wages and the future of what was a very successful business”.

The source has described the stress this has caused to employees, particularly in the run-up to Christmas with staff, many of whom have families and young children, not having received wages for over four weeks and with no communication from PFI or Signmaster’s director Darren McMurray.

According to the source, employees have been told that redundancy payments will not happen before the new year and the Pension Regulator has informed them that they are looking into irregularities. These factors have also added to the stress and anxiety of staff.

The source says there has been no communication from McMurray who has appointed former managing director of Mardan Products, Andy Martin, as a representative. Communication with Martin has been described as “vague and sometimes untrue”, causing further uncertainty.

The lack of management from the director has been described as “mentally painful” with staff feeling in limbo since former managing director, Stuart Horsburgh resigned earlier this year.

The source adds: “Many long-standing employees are now without wages or jobs. No one is taking responsibility for the loss of a great and long-established sign manufacturer. It’s a great loss to the industry, the local rural community in the Scottish Borders, but mostly to the talented and experienced employees who are now jobless.”

At the time of writing, PFI Group has not responded to our request for comment.

If you have any information on this issue or would like to share your thoughts, please email carys@linkpublishing.co.uk or join in with the conversation on Twitter and LinkedIn.