Ascent teams up provide turnaround solutions

Ascent Partners has formed a strategic alliance with turnaround professionals Rodgers Reidy / TBA Solutions, in order to provide Australian printers who have experienced significant sustained downturns, with options for the pathway forward.

The five or more options may include modifying their business and trading on, or going down the new Chapter 11 Debtor in Possession path, or in some cases exit from the industry via voluntary administration / liquidations.

Ascent Partners director, Richard Rasmussen says, “Unfortunately, many printers are still experiencing 30 per cent plus declines in sales, and are surviving off the back of JobKeeper and lenient landlords or creditors. This is fast coming to an end, which will place many businesses in financial stress especially when future sales remain depressed. 

“We want to provide a one-stop-shop where printers can confidentially contact us for advice, comfortable in the knowledge that we understand the industry and their business, and then, where applicable work hand in hand with Rodgers Reidy / TBA Solutions to provide the best solution.”

A free initial consultation with Ascent Partners is offered. After analysis of the business, they can then provide applicable options that could be considered. These options could include, but are not limited to:

1. Changing the business model to provide for the new norm in their sales. This could mean downsizing the operation and outsourcing work.
2. Selling or merging the business.
3. Going down the new Chapter 11 Debtor in Possession Path. This program started on 1 January this year – basically it allows SME firms, with less than $1m in liabilities, to trade on, whilst developing a turnaround plan to put to their creditors.
4. Safe Harbour – in certain instances, protection for being personally pursued for insolvent trading can be put in place, to enable business owners to continue to trade whist formulating a turnaround plan.
5. Voluntary administration / liquidation. In some instances, no amount of turnaround work can help and the business’s best option is to go down these paths.

“Partnering with Rodgers Reidy / TBA Solutions makes sense as they have the turnaround and insolvency expertise for options 3 to 5 above, with us assisting, and we have the industry knowledge and expertise to provide services 1 and 2 as we do now,” said Rasmussen. “For example, we may get involved with the sale of plant and or goodwill (client base) and perhaps place key staff including the vendor with another business.

“Another factor in partnering with Rodgers Reidy/ TBA Solutions is that they have a national footprint – we can therefore service the whole Australian market as we do with our other services.”

Brent Morgan, director of Rodgers Reidy / TBA Solutions, Melbourne said, “The insolvency industry has had a quiet year in 2020, mainly because to the Government’s Covid 19 insolvency protection laws. This ended on January 1. Unfortunately this, coupled with the removal of JobKeeper, and with creditors, such as landlords and the ATO chasing money harder and returning to normal trading terms, will mean that many businesses will struggle to make ends meet. Our aim, with Ascent Partners, is to help printers find the best solution to suit their needs, and thereby provide the best return for them and, where applicable, for their creditors.

“We will only get involved where necessary but see that for many the new Chapter 11 Debtor in Possession model may be widely used throughout the industry. This allows the printer to continue to trade whilst a plan is developed to turnaround their business. It is important to note however that there are specific eligibility criteria, such as less than $1m liabilities, employee entitlements / super and that ATO Lodgements are up to date.

Rasmussen concludes by saying, “The aim of this strategic alliance of having an industry specialist working hand in hand with a turnaround / insolvency specialist is to provide more options and better outcomes, for print businesses who continue to experience significantly less sales and if applicable, for their creditors.

For more information / confidential discussion, please contact Richard Rasmussen – 0402 021 101 or at richard@ascentpartners.com.au. For further background about the new laws and the 2021 outlook you can click here to view a 10 minute presentation by Rodgers Reidy.