One of London’s most established celebrity picture agencies was under threat this week after its parent company went into administration.
Agency founder David Bealing was in talks this week to salvage People in Pictures, as well as its US paparazzi pictures arm Kudos Pix, and is hoping to begin trading again next week.
But the Fleet Street veteran is likely to be hundreds of thousands of pounds out of pocket and seven staff have lost their jobs.
Bealing founded People in Pictures in 1983 and before that worked for papers such as the Daily Star, the Daily Express and the Evening Standard.
He sold the company to an IT-based firm called Logcom last April in a deal worth £300,000. Bealing stayed on as manager but said he never received the majority of money owed.
This week Logcom went into administration and Bealing said buying People in Pictures back from the administrators could cost him £100,000.
Bealing said: “We are hoping to get the agency up and running by Monday. We want to buy back the name and the goodwill and try to re-establish ourselves over the next year.”
He is currently in talks to relaunch the agency, backed by a company called Landmark.
Bealing has retained ownership of his extensive picture library, which includes valuable shots of stars such as Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe.
By Dominic Ponsford
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