I imagine the listening audience for the File On 4 radio programme trailed on this site and reported on here contained many people from this industry. If you didn't catch it, I urge you to prioritise some time asap to listen again via this link.

It emerged that while there are stats and research about jobs that are preserved when companies emerge from administration in one form or another, nobody really knows what the knock-on effects of pre-packs and administrations is in terms of the subsequent job losses at creditors and suppliers left with bad debts. It seems to me the Insolvency Service could be usefully employed in finding that out. How typical too, that the government minister responsible at BERR rejected the programme maker's requests for an interview.

It was a gripping and though-provoking piece of broadcasting, but the most interesting thing for me was not the appearance by MPI's Mike Dolan, who smoothly answered the presenter's questions about the propriety of certain transactions by MPI companies by saying that operational decisions were made at a local level, and therefore he didn't have first-hand knowledge of the details.

No, the most compelling - and chilling - comments came from self-confessed asset stripper John Batchelor, who said the Enterprise Act has made his job much easier. "It has made it extremely simple for people to go in and tear a company to pieces for their own gain... it's a pirate's charter".

Batchelor stated that cash and asset stripping of companies "has returned with a vengeance", aided by the government, the legislation it has introduced, and the current economic turmoil.  His view is that such activities will take place on an unprecedented level over the next 18 months.

In the printing industry we seem to attract unwelcome business trends: phoenix companies, late payment, now pre-packs - so be warned that the asset strippers will no doubt be coming next. Some might argue they're already here.