PrintWeek has obtained a copy of the administrator BWC Business Solutions' SIP 16 disclosure notes, which reveal that the new company, Lick Group, bought the business and assets of Lick UK, excluding work in progress, for £50,000.

Of this figure, £20,000 was paid upfront, with the balance being paid at £6,000 a month for the next five months.

All jobs at the company have been transferred to Lick Group and no further redundancies have been made.

According to the SIP 16 document, immediately following the appointment of BWC on 7 April, no funding was available with which to continue trading the company's business.

The report said: "The administrator did not consider that, even if funding and time constraints allowed, advertising the business for sale would result in an increased offer from any other third party."

The report stated that, although there were a number of reasons for the company's fall into administration, ultimately a winding-up order, which was due to be heard on 11 May 2010, and expected recovery action by HM Revenue & Customs were the final straw.

It said: "Shortly prior to the administrator's appointment, one of the company's directors, Linden Kitson, had expressed interest in acquiring the company's business and unencumbered assets from the administrators, once they were appointed, as part of a pre-pack sale."

According to the administrator's notes, the financial downturn hit Lick hard, with the direct mail business suffering a 35% downturn. Two rounds of redundancies were taken, while remaining staff were asked to take a 20% pay cut for a number of months.

The report stated: "Matters worsened when the company suffered a number of bad debts in late 2009, totalling circa £50,000. The company was also still liable for lease payments on the premises in Elland of circa £130,000 per annum."