The £83m turnover investment company already owns a portfolio of print, design, media and marketing businesses, including Magnet Harlequin, Creo Retail Marketing, Arken Pop and Technik.

Today (12 February), Writtle announced that it was considering a bid for Tangent of at least 2.75p a share, trumping the current offer from members of the management team at the AIM-listed PLC, which is for 2.25p a share.

Writtle said that its cash offer of "no less than 2.75p" would be made by the holding company or one of the companies in the group, and was conditional on having access to Tangent’s books.

In a statement, the firm said: ”Writtle currently intends to work towards a recommended transaction and to enter into a constructive dialogue with Tangent and its major shareholders and is announcing this proposal as a means to encourage and further this process.

“The making of any announcement of a firm intention to make an offer for Tangent is preconditional upon gaining access to carry out satisfactory due diligence.”

Writtle executive chairman Robert Essex told PrintWeek: "We can't say much until we receive the requested information from Tangent, which we hope will be forthcoming quickly. We have followed Tangent with interest for a number of years and believe there could be significant benefits to joining forces."

Tangent announced that it was recommending a £6.7m management bid for the business, backed by former TV mogul Michael Green, on Wednesday.

Tangent shares jumped a further 8%, to 2.44p, on the news.