Former Beaver Press directors put Goodcrowd business into liquidation

Goodcrowd Pty Ltd appointed liquidator CRS Warner Kugel on 16 March. The creditors' report shows $1.4m owed to unsecured creditors, including $688,219 to trade creditors.

The largest single debt is to Fuji Xerox Australia, with $428,914 shown on the report. Goodcrowd also owed $99,603 to SOS Print & Media, and $169,275 to the Australian Tax Office.

The liquidator's report said: "Based on information currently available, a dividend is unlikely to be paid to the unsecured creditors of the company."

However, Fuji Xerox told ProPrint a considerable portion of its debt had actually been paid off. 

Managing director Robert Francis told ProPrint the move into liquidation was motivated by illness in the family. Goodcrowd Pty Ltd is in the name of his wife, Catherine Francis.

Francis said he had been forced to sell personal property to pay off debts. "We intend to pay our creditors back, however, some government bodies may miss out."

He said he would continue to trade under a new name, Goodcrowd Integrated Print Communications Pty Limited, which was registered with ASIC on 4 June 2010.

Francis said: "There will definitely be no redundancies."

Goodcrowd has 10 staff, including Robert Francis and his son, David, who was general manager of Beaver and is now general manager of Goodcrowd.

Beaver Press called in the administrators in April 2010 following an aborted tie-up with fellow failed Sydney firm, Chippendale Printing.