Govt pays out $300k to employees of failed Melbourne printer Embassy Press

The liquidation of Melbourne's Embassy Press has ended with all staff apparently seeing entitlements through GEERS and the owners bemoaning six-figure losses.

Liquidator Phillip Newman paid out $291,000 to 12 priority creditors – believed to be the staff – after receiving the same amount from the federal General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme.

Embassy co-owner Craig Dykes told ProPrint that "to the best of my knowledge", all staff had been fully remunerated.

He said he and co-owner Ryan Paternott had each suffered six-figure losses after the Melbourne printer called in the liquidators in August 2011.

Neither Dykes nor Newman would comment when asked why the business had collapsed under $2 million of debt.

Dykes told ProPrint that he and Paternott had been cleared by the liquidator of any wrongdoing and had always tried to be honest in all their dealings.

The former Embassy Press owners and some of their former employees now work for a new company based in Port Melbourne, Embassy Print Solutions, but Dykes denied it was a phoenix.

"There are separate owners and the assets were bought by the separate owners. I'm just an employee these days... Ryan is just an employee."

In the liquidators' report, Newman confirmed last year that Embassy Print Solutions was "not a phoenix" as there "appeared to be a bona fide sale of the company's assets".

Dykes said he and Paternott had "been through a very, very difficult time" and were trying to make Embassy Print Solutions succeed in a difficult market for the benefit of the staff and industry.

Newman collected $487,000 during his liquidation and paid out $362,000, leaving a balance of $125,000.

Most of the incomings came from federal wage assistance ($291,000) and the sale of assets ($125,000), while money also came from the sale of the business ($25,000) and leftover cash ($14,000).

Most of the outgoings went to staff entitlements ($291,000), liquidator fees ($33,000) and taxation ($12,000).

Newman refused to comment when contacted by ProPrint.