David Smithson and Michael Fortune of Leonard Curtis, were appointed as joint administrators of Snows Business Forms Ltd on 14 March.

They said their appointment was initiated by the directors of the company following a drop in trade and resulting cashflow difficulties.

While the business – established in 1983 – had expanded its range of products over time from stationery to include other branded marketing goods, the administrators said that due to a significant reduction in demand during the Covid lockdowns and increasing national online competition, the company became loss-making and suffered cashflow pressures.

The administrators said they had considered the possibility of a sale of the business as a going concern but, due to a lack of working capital, the company had been forced to cease trading prior to their appointment and its 18 staff had been made redundant.

Smithson commented: “We did quickly look at whether the business could be revived to facilitate a possible business sale following our appointment but concluded that without access to new working capital it was not a viable option.

“We have, however, completed a sale of the majority of the unencumbered equipment to one interested party and a separate sale of the stock, database and goodwill to a different party with assistance from asset disposal specialists Hilco.”

The administrators said the company’s premises were leased and would be returned to the landlord.

Fortune added: “Our expertise and knowledge of dealing with printing businesses allowed us to advise the directors quickly on their options, and whilst it was not possible to achieve a sale of the business as a going concern, we managed to implement a strategy to maximise the value in the goodwill and assets for the benefit of creditors.

“We will also be assisting the former employees with their various claims to the redundancy payments office.”

Snows’ website, which had showed the appointment of administrators’ announcement last week, has now updated to say that Inprint Group “has taken over the Snows ongoing business and online ordering systems”.

According to its own website, Southampton-headquartered Inprint Group operates 37 printing brands (not including the addition of Snows), including Better Printing, Eazy Print, and Roller Banners UK.

Inprint has been contacted for comment.