Big Pictures goes into liquidation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jan/16/big-pictures-goes-into-liquidation-paparazzi

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Paparazzi firm Big Pictures has entered voluntary liquidation, drawing to a close 21 years of celebrity photographs and showbiz gossip from flamboyant founder Darryn Lyons.

The British picture agency filed for creditors' voluntary liquidation at the high court in London earlier this month after running into financial difficulty.

Big Pictures owes more than £82,000 to photographers and other picture agencies, according to Companies House documents filed by administrators RSM Tenon.

Lyons, who formed the company in 1992, has reportedly returned to Australia where he is considering running for mayor of his home town, Geelong.

Over two decades, his paparazzi firm plugged the demand for pictures of celebrities at red-carpet events or falling out of nightclubs.

Big Pictures handled 3,500 showbiz snaps a day from 152 freelance or paparazzi photographers around the world, plus 29 full-time members of staff, according to Lyons' evidence last year to the Leveson inquiry into press standards, at which he appeared via video link from Australia.

"The paparazzi business has changed so dramatically," Lyons told the Herald Sun last year. "It's like the industrial revolution and smart business people have to move with the times."

Unverified accounts for Big Pictures show the company made a £301,000 loss after tax from 1 February to 30 June 2012 on a turnover of £540,000. RSM Tenon said the management accounts had not been verified for accuracy and "may not reflect the company's true trading position".

Lyons was the lone shareholder in Big Pictures and is also a shareholder in BPGG Limited, which bought the firm as part of the administration process for £164,000.

The sale of Big Pictures includes its picture library of approximately 5m images, which had attracted a £100,000 bid before it was sold back to Lyons.

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