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October 5, 2012updated 08 Oct 2012 8:21pm

Big silence from pap agency which went bust last week owing freelances and staff thousands

By Dominic Ponsford

A week after news agency Big Pictures went bust its administrators RSM Tenon are remaining silent about the future of the company.

In response to press inquiries they will only confirm that the company went into administration on 27 September.

The London-based agency, once one of the biggest celebrity photo agencies in the world, has had cash-flow problems for some weeks.

Press Gazette understands that last week 21 staff were made redundant left owing wages for the month of September.

Well-placed sources believe that founder of Big Pictures Darryn Lyons and former chief executive Nigel Regan are involved in a company which has already bought the assets of Big Pictures. Four members of staff are understood to have gone with the new company which is believed to be trading out of offices in St John's Lane, nearby Big Pictures’ current offices in Clerkenwell, London.

The administrators do not appear to be advertising Big Pictures as a going concern.

Two freelance photographers owed money by Big Pictures – Charlie Pycraft and John Gordon – say they have contacted the police in a bid to get negatives and digital copies of their work returned.

When Press Gazette contacted administrators RSM Tenon we were told that they could only confirm that they were appointed on 27 September but were unable to answer any questions.

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