A 160-year-old newspaper folds and more
We’re on the cusp of Summer and even if the holiday season isn’t in full swing yet, everyone will be looking forward to some down time in the next few weeks and months.
Hopefully you can get some this weekend yourself to catch up on all the interesting and important insolvency and business news stories from the past seven days you might have missed!
So if you want to know why April’s corporate insolvencies have reached yearly highs; how you can give your business a summer boost and why CCJs awarded against businesses are soaring – you can read all these stories and more at our advice centre page.
South London Press
An independent local newspaper serving South London for over 160 years has closed with immediate effect.
The South London Press and londonnewsdaily.co.uk website closed this week after being founded in 1865.
The title was sold to a London based leaflet distribution firm Street Runners in the summer of 2017 and was trading under MSI Media. 18 months previously it had gone into administration under previous owners.
The title was the last professional journalism outlet covering council meetings in three London boroughs – Bexley, Bromley and Lewisham and also covered news from Croydon, Greenwich, Lambeth, Merton, Southwark, Wandsworth and the City of Westminster.
LipSync
A UK post-production company that worked on several Oscar and BAFTA winning films has gone into administration.
LipSync was first formed in 1984 and has worked on films such as The Brutalist, The Salt Path, Tornado, We Need To Talk About Kevin, Nowhere Boy and Testament of Youth.
The company is based on Wardour Street in London and has 69 employees.
They issued a statement which said: “Lip Sync Post Limited entered administration on May 15th 2025.
“The company is continuing to trade under the control of administrators with a sale for the business and assets to be finalised. The trading period is not expected to be any longer than two weeks as the administrators are at advanced stages with a third party.
“During this period it’s business as usual for the company. No redundancies have been made and hopefully an announcement regarding the sale will be made shortly.”
Corbyn Construction
A London groundworks and concrete frame specialist construction firm has ceased trading and gone into administration
Corbyn Construction were formed in 1989 and had filed several notices of intention to appoint administrators last year and had received several County Court Judgements (CCJs) against the business.
A statement was issued that confirmed the appointment of administrators and said: “The appointment follows more than six months of work alongside the company to explore a solvent solution.
“Unfortunately, sustained market challenges and the impact of increasingly complex regulatory requirements have ultimately meant that a route forward was not possible. The company has now ceased trading and all staff have been made redundant. Creditors are being contacted directly and will receive the administrators’ proposals within the next eight weeks”.
Ardrhu House
A luxury spa retreat in North East Scotland has gone into voluntary liquidation and closed due to mounting cost pressures with the loss of four permanent positions.
Ardrhu House near Fort William was a high-end spa and guesthouse which is now up for sale for £1.5 million. The manor is 165 years old with 4.7 acres of landscaped grounds overlooking Loch Linnhe.
The venue serves as a boutique hotel and wedding venue as well as a sauna, steam room, hot tub and offered beauty treatments.
The company cited the lasting impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit, staffing shortages and rising costs including higher National Insurance Contributions as key factors behind the closure.
The directors explored every option with the business but ultimately felt there was no choice but to enter liquidation.
Algal Omega 3
A Liverpool based omega-3 oil suppliers is in administration and continues to operate while looking for buyers.
Algal Omega 3 employs 42 staff from its advanced manufacturing site but recently lost its last remaining contract leaving directors no option but to place the business into administration.
The company is being marketed for sale and remains operational to complete outstanding orders.
A statement from the business said: “The team at Algal built an impressive fermentation and extraction site in Knowsley with advanced processes and capabilities. Unfortunately, with such intense competition in the international market for omega-3, the business couldn’t retain key contacts amidst rising production costs.
“A sale process for the business and assets is under way with interested parties urged to get in touch before an orderly wind down of operations begins.”
Summer arriving also means we’re nearly at the halfway stage of the year and there are still lots of opportunities for directors and business owners to make short and medium term improvements that can only help their companies in the rest of 2025 and hopefully beyond.
This is why we offer a free initial consultation to any director or small business owner who’d like some impartial, expert advice on how they can bolster their businesses.
Whether you’re eyeing expansion, consolidation or even survival – we’ll be able to help.
The sooner you get in touch, the more options you’ll generally have and more importantly, the time to implement them.
Get in touch with us today and together we can work to make 2025 a memorable year – for all the right reasons.