The deal, for an undisclosed sum, was closed two days after the Daventry-based firm, with debts of 1.7m, was placed into administrative receivership on 13 April.

"WH had two or three really bad months at the start of this year... it was unusually quiet," said Johnson, managing director of the new set-up, Trade Binders Daventry.

WH laid off 20 staff in February to hold off administration, and owner Roger Westrop, who stays with the new firm in a short-term consultative capacity only, had been looking for buyers.

WH had a turnover of around 3m prior to its collapse. "The demise of WH is endemic of the competitive nature of this sector," said Baker Tilly joint administrative receiver Guy Mander.

Johnson is aiming for a turnover of 2.5m. "Customers all seem absolutely fine," he said. "One or two of the suppliers, as you can imagine, have had a little bit of a hiccup, but the majority are going with us."

Story by Darryl Danielli