Administrator Begbies Traynor was appointed to the business on 22 October, after Quadsect's board had  applied for court protection from administration.

Begbies Traynor partner Paul Davis said that a deal for the sale of the assets and customer base of the firm, conducted by the directors, had been done prior to his appointment.

Davis said he would investigate whether the deal would be allowed to go forward as planned, and whether it would be beneficial for the creditors or not. He declined to comment on who the prospective buyer was.

The source said that Quadsect staff were "baffled" that no attempt had been made to keep the business operating from its Deptford site.

He questioned how a business with 24 years' history could slip from a turnover of 2.7m to oblivion in less than two years.

Quadsect's demise has been put down to an erosion of its margins and low profitability.

The litho print firm produced point-of-sale material for John Lewis, BBC Worldwide, the Institute of Directors and Budweiser.

Story by Andy Scott