"Psychic News" to Close

A high-ranking official of the SNU has just informed me that Psychic News has been put into liquidation and - subject to confirmation - has only two more issues to be published.

This is no doubt to upstage a members revolt at the AGM this coming weekend when the announcement of PN's closure will be presented as a fait accompli.

You can register your protest by email: charles.coulston@snu.org.uk

shame....

PROTEST PROTEST PROTEST

and lets get a movement to buy it out of liquidation...

By the by as Bruton was the Finance Director of Psychic Press what is his legal standing in terms of company law over there especially now he is to become President of the SNU. Posted in many places we can also see that the SNU had received offers of more than enough cash to keep PN open and clear all debts. What was the motive behind this action.

Time for a members revolt in Blackpool I am sure the election results would have been different if this news came out earlier.

"shame" - I think I would put it rather stronger than that. It is not only shameful it is disgusting. The SNU executive responsible for this decision should immediately resign from their positions. There was money offered to solve any financial problems that may exist and the SNU have refused it.

Why? Why go ahead and put PN (or is it Psychic Press which operates PN?) into liquidation when there was money on offer to save it?

That question needs an answer - and those who have done this must be held accountable for their actions.

Let Spiritualists wherever they are around the world make their protest. Write to Coulston, write to the new President, protest through the church organisations, in whatever way you can think of, because this is the deliberate killing off of an important Spiritualist Institution, and a very sad day indeed for Spiritualism.

No doubt the SNU members at the AGM will be told PN had to close due to financial debt - yet there was more than enough money available to deal with the situation. So the SNU members responsible for this foul act will lie to the members, will falsely present the situation and tell everyone it is too late to do anything about it.

Just what has REALLY been going on you may well ask. Well don't be surprised if the true story begins to be heard in the near future. The truth needs to be told. Those responsible must be held accountable for their actions and it is Spiritualists who must make sure they are.

I rather suspect that as the incoming President has an MBA the explanation will be rather different. Something like that, despite the money on offer, the SNU felt that it was best to focus its resources more upon its own development. Thus any publications should be more aligned with the SNU's desire to spread internationally and spread the message of the organisation. The time taken managing Psychic Press was a distraction to these aims and as the companies had a poor financial record it was felt the harsh decision to close was the best result (in business terms the quick loss is the best).

He will probably announce a committee charged with setting up a new monthly internet publication through the SNUI to go international. My bet is that the name will already have been chosen.

Of course the whole thing has played out in a different way than that intended. It was meant to have happened, with nobody knowing beforehand, at the conference.

It is ridicukous in more ways than one, the Members and readership should have been prewarned to start a campaign to save it with a one year time scale on the "turn round".

What the conference attendees and members of the SNU need to take on board is that apparently sufficient cash was on offer too cover losses and keep it going. I suspect that will be denied or diluted in the announcement although, if the money was on offer, the SNU and its incoming President must know that thus fact WILL come out after the event and thereby cause any wrong phraseology to appear a lie. It will also become one of the hottest topics around.

Could there be another deeper plan going on? On the basis of the SNU's planning to date and losses in UK membership and churches, poor state of mediumship etc it does seem unlikely but then President Elect has an MBA. He is also a Medium but I would think whenever he tuned in all he would hear is Maurice Barbanell berating him.

I doubt that our Spirit Side piomeers will be letting the SNU committee sleep easily.

The bit about liquidation worries me. Is it liquidation or receivership. Either way of course, in the absence of sufficient assets people will not get paid . In order, the unsecured creditors would not get paid (including all advance subscriptions received), then if the deficiency is greater, employee entitlements & tax , finally if funds are still short any secured creditors will not be paid or only part paid.

Of course depending on matters such as when the decision was made and what debts were incurred after the decision to close, then there is the chance the Directors traded whilst insolvent. Interesting to watch what happens to the Directors.

In either case PN is an asset which would be sold, if possible, to help recover these shortfalls. Maybe it is a Machiavellian plan to divest the SNU of PN and get some money back if so its a major gamble.

To define, in a Receivership the secured creditor appoints a receiver who oversees the sale of assets to recover the secured creditors position. It is just possible in this case that the SNU may have placed themselves in a secured position thereby pre-empting creditors and employee entitlements (depending upon UK law).
The Receiver then acts for them until funds have been recoverd to pay out that debt. To some extent the secured creditor has some control in the process providing they do not deliberately disadvantage other creditors.

Once the Receiver is finished a creditor appointed liquidator is usually appointed.

We then get the role of a liquidator which is to liquidate the assets as quickly as possible and distribute the funds in the order I previously indicated. A liquidator will look at the possibility of insolvent trading and will usually launch legal action because it is normal Directors shell out some cash to get rid of it (albeit unwillingly)...often in a liquidation this is the only way a liquidator gets any money. Well if this was OZ the Psychic Press Directors would be paying out but I am not sure if the UK still has the Official Receivers Government Run Organisation, which may be a bit more ethical. However being fully funded they are much more likely to pursue matters than a liquidator with no surplus funds to play with.

My SNU sources tell me that the next issue of PN will be the final one.

I truly believe you are correct Z.

If the editor of PN was to attend the conference and report the truth it would not go well for the SNU.

HOWEVER IF A LIQUIDATOR IS APPOINTED HE HAS CONTROL OF PUBLICATION AND IF AN INTERESTED BUYER ACTS QUICKLY THEY COULD INSIST ON CONTINUITY.

Once the SNU placed Psychic Press in liquidation they lost legal control of the corporate entity

So what is the legal situation here, liquidation, receivership or closing down.

In the latter case the SNU would have to pay out all creditors, tax and employee liabilities plus forgive debt etc..

Admin wrote:So what is the legal situation here, liquidation, receivership or closing down.

In the latter case the SNU would have to pay out all creditors, tax and employee liabilities plus forgive debt etc..

It should be an interesting AGM if the delegates make their views known. A lot depends on the conference chairman who I understand is John Blackwood.

HOT OFF THE PRESS Psychic News will cease publication with the issue dated 24/7/10.

End of discussion. Next week's issue will be the last. As I predicted, Mr. MBA will not allow PN to stay in operation long enough to report on the AGM. At least, it will not be reported on in Psychic News.

Doesn't mean the truth won't get reported elsewhere, of course. As it should, as it must.

Lis wrote:HOT OFF THE PRESS Psychic News will cease publication with the issue dated 24/7/10.

End of discussion. Next week's issue will be the last. As I predicted, Mr. MBA will not allow PN to stay in operation long enough to report on the AGM. At least, it will not be reported on in Psychic News.

Doesn't mean the truth won't get reported elsewhere, of course. As it should, as it must.

I already stated that next week's issue will be the last (see my post above). It was only decided today.

As for stating that the AGM won't be reported in PN - the parts that matter wiil be!

Oh, yes Z - since next week's paper has already been produced just how do you see it is going to be published in PN - the edition that has gone to the printer did so before the AGM will take place.

I might add, that if PN has already gone into liquidation, the previous owners have no control over any further publication. That which is already at the printers might be published but only because that happened before the liquidator took control.

If they have, as you Z allege, the SNU would have no further say in the publication or non-publication of PN, this week next week or any other time.

My remarks that PN's last edition is for the week ending 24/7/10 (that is published and distributed on Tuesday 20/7/10) is from a totally reliable source - so the situation may not as straightforward as it appears on the surface - unless, as I say, the liquidator cannot stop what has already gone to the printers.

Lis wrote:I might add, that if PN has already gone into liquidation, the previous owners have no control over any further publication. That which is already at the printers might be published but only because that happened before the liquidator took control.

If they have, as you Z allege, the SNU would have no further say in the publication or non-publication of PN, this week next week or any other time.

My remarks that PN's last edition is for the week ending 24/7/10 (that is published and distributed on Tuesday 20/7/10) is from a totally reliable source - so the situation may not as straightforward as it appears on the surface - unless, as I say, the liquidator cannot stop what has already gone to the printers.

I don't intend to argue about it, Lis.

Let's wait and see.

That is a rather patronising reply Z - surely you can, if you have clear information do better than just reply in such a manner.

Let's get this quite clear. Z alleges, according to a senior source in the SNU that PN has been put into liquidation. If PN has actually been put into liquidation, and I am not disputing this possibility, then the SNU would from that point in time have no further control over whether there was one, two or four further publications of PN.

When it is made clear, however, from a very reliable souce that the last edition of PN will be next week's edition, it leaves the matter open to some confusion. Is that because the liquidator is allowing it to happen, or the SNU allowed it to happen before it called in the liquidators (a very important question in legal terms) or is the actual situation less clear than at first suggested by Z.

Those matters need to be clarified, in order to establish the true situation.

The next issue of Psychic News will be the last. This issue will feature comments and tributes from columnists and supporters.

Looking at what they have just done, pulling the edition of the paper that may have carried the story, if the SNU feel some report may appear in next weeks paper ther is a good chance they will stop that too.

Jeez you guys keep some late hours!!

Indeed we do Mac - when it is in a good cause - like Spiritualism!

Lis wrote:Indeed we do Mac - when it is in a good cause - like Spiritualism!

well said, Lis!!

As somebody with over 40 yesr experience as a senior financial manager who has been in a position to contest the actions of Receivers and Liquidators I am not sure how any of this is playing out.


As I understand it we were told Psychic Press, the owners of PN were put into liquidation last week. Now unless to continue publishing would enhance the opportunity of selling PN or Psychic Press as a going concern the liquidator would cease all activities almost immediately.,,,,or else they become liable for further losses.

So who is printing the paper and how is it being paid for?

For the SNU to continue funding could open the way for all Creditors to claim payment from them as the owners. This particularly as any debts recently incurred by Psychic Press and all subscriptions received since the decision would open the Directors to claims against them in a liquidation because of insolvency.

Now alternatively the SNU could pay out all liabilities and close Psychic Press without offering any opportunity to others to buy it and keep it going.

Either way the matter has been handled appallingly. the SNU had a duty to the broader Spiritualist World, internationally, to bring the troubles into the open and seek a way to find others to become involved. PN is a major part of our heritage. There is always an alternative. Had I written there is no alternative in any Strategic Planning work for my Management Postgraduate I would have failed it, sadly an MBA seems to have decided there was no alternative.

It is now vital that the SNU facilitates any effort by third parties to save or resurrect PN.

I do hope that the SNU are not hiding behind a liquidation to fail to pay out any creditors and staff entitlements that would not be the Spiritual thing to do to such a well performed and loyal group who have so sustained and improved Psychic News.