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Navyblue confirms voluntary liquidation

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

September 13, 2011 | 3 min read

Stalwart design agency Navyblue has closed its doors after 17 years in business in Edinburgh and London.

The bombshell comes two weeks after managing director, Douglas Alexander, left the business unexpectedly in contentious circumstances.

It marks the end of an era and a dramatic fall from grace for a company crowned Design Agency of the Decade at the Scottish Design Lunch 2010.

Navyblue director Geoff Nicol, who founded the agency with Alexander in 1993, told The Drum: “Despite continued support from our bankers to address current economic and trading pressures, our recent ‘internal’ problems have proved to be too difficult to overcome.

“Although we have made significant personal commitments and investment recently, on the advice of our accountants, we have regretfully decided that we must put our business into voluntary liquidation.”

Nicol’s explanation for the closure invites further questions about the real reason for Alexander’s departure - and the costly ramifications his exit may have caused.

Alexander insisted he had resigned due to differences in opinion about how the business should move forward. The agency claimed he had been suspended pending an investigation into “alleged breaches of company procedure”.

Nicol hinted that Navyblue would return in some guise in the near future. He said: “We are deeply saddened that after 17 years of exemplary trading, the business will no longer exist as it stands today.

“However, the core Navyblue strategy and design teams, in both Edinburgh and London, will continue as a team. We are extremely excited at the prospects and opportunities that lie ahead; and would like to reassure our clients of our continued and unwavering support.”

It is not clear how many staff Navyblue employed across its two offices. It declared that it had 71 employees in 2008 but it has since made several redundancies, with eight staff shed in April this year.

Its clients have included accountancy firm Crowe Clark Whitehill, footwear brand New Balance, Save Energy Oman and the Edinburgh International Festival.

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