12 November 2005
The "UK's largest and most experienced photographic importer, distributor and re-seller" - Sangers Ltd - and Prisma (Europe) Ltd have gone into administration. Robert Hunt and Matthew Hammond of PriceWaterhouseCoopers were appointed joint administrators on 7 November 2005.
The businesses continue to trade whilst a survival plan is formulated which includes the search for a buyer.
Sangers Limited imports and distributes brands such as Cosina, Tokina and Tamrac. It had a turnover of around £20 million last year. Sangers and Prisma Europe employ a total of 54 people.
It's perhaps ironic and a sad reflection of the current state of the photo industry, that the Sangers website's home page states: "We have the longest established business of it's kind in the UK - with a strong heritage in serving the photo imaging industry with our unparalleled service for well over a hundred years."
The Studio Workshop has also been affected by this announcement.