UK photographic services company Johnsons Photopia has gone into administration.
The owner of JP Group, which comprises JP Services and JP Distribution, stopped trading on Tuesday (25th).
A notice on the company’s website reads:
Joint Administrators, W John Kelly and Gareth Prince who were appointed as Joint Administrators of the above Company on 25 September 2018. They act as agents of the Company and without personal liability. Any queries please contact Begbies Traynor (Central) LLP on 0121 200 8150 or via email to Birmingham@begbies-traynor.com
JP Distribution is the UK distributor for a number of well-known accessory brands such as BlackRapid, Sekonic and PocketWizard. Other brands distributed by the company include paper manufacturer Permajet and US-based lighting manufacturer Westcott, as well as filter specialists Syrp and H&Y Filters.
The company has also previously distributed products from Mamiya, Broncolor and Lastolite, as well as British bag manufacturer Billingham. It has maintained a presence at many events in the UK, and exhibited at The Photography Show in March of this year.
Twitter users have expressed their sadness at the news:
Sad to see JP have to make such a dramatic change in direction after so many years of professionalism, excellence and successful efforts for their suppliers and customers.28 September 2018
Another sad loss for the photographic industry with a long history serving some great products Ofer the years, its a difficult situation for all the employees at all levels. Sad times.28 September 2018
JP Services provides repairs and other technical after-sales support for photographic equipment from a variety of brands, such as Ricoh Imaging, Nikon and Sekonic.
Based in Newcastle Under Lyme, Johnsons Photopia states that it can trace its roots back to 1743.
In 2006, the company was bought from then-owner David Vaughan by Steve Kirkham, David Harper and Tim Harrison, who are said to have been effectively running the company prior to the sale.
It is not known how many staff are affected by the news.