Showpiece shop goes to the wall
ABA Holdings, who recently opened a shop offering photocopying services on the main walkway, went into receivership on Wednesday after their major shareholders made a decision to withdraw capital.
ABA moved from their old premises on Gloucester Road after being invited by College to take up retail space on the walkway. The College had hoped to provide a central photocopying outlet on campus which could handle the volume of photocopying needed by College.
Mike Hansen, Director of Finance at Imperial, commented: "We specifically chose a small company that was not Kodak, thinking that they would be more attuned to work with us." ABA opened in January and aimed to take much of the photocopying business that had previously been catered for by individual departments.
Warning signs of the company’s problems were noticed by several students, one said: "I often wondered when ABA hoped to do any photocopying, I tried many times throughout last term and always found it closed." Mr Hansen, however, denied any prior knowledge of the ABA’s financial difficulties, expressing his disappointment that the arrangement had not worked out, "We find ourselves back in the position we were in three months ago and we are having to examine the choices that College has."
ABA Holdings has been taken over by Callprint, another printing and photocopying company. A spokesperson for Callprint assured Felix that they were hoping to reopen the campus shop as soon as possible. Mr Hansen could not confirm this statement, "ABA’s contract is now null and void and if the new owners wish to have a branch on the South Kensington campus they will have to renegotiate with us."
Andy Thompson, ICU’s Print Unit Manager, who had initially feared that ABA would significantly effect his business, commented: "They had no real effect on our business, which is mostly from the Union Clubs and Societies, though I expect they damaged the departmental reprographic facilities business. My sympathies lie with the staff, who have lost their jobs. I can only say that it serves College right for not putting the job out to tender in the first place, ABA just arrived on the walkway with no consideration to anybody.
