The deal was concluded following the appointment of administrators Leonard Curtis on 22 March and has preserved the jobs of all 27 Steffprint employees.
AMS managing director Ian Whitfield said: "We’ve kept all the staff and moved everything into our Bradford plant – we ceased printing there almost immediately.
"There was an opportunity, but it had to be taken or walked away from very quickly – it was probably only a week or 10 days from when we were made aware until we completed the deal."
Whitfield said the acquisition of Steffprint's business would help plug some of the gap left when AMS severed its contract with Z-Card at the end of last year in order to launch its own rival Alpha Card.
"Our contract with Z Card ended at the end of 2012 and whilst I would have liked to have bought that business but we ended up launching the Alpha Card instead. It's been a difficult period but fortunately we've got some excellent clients elsewhere and we're continuing to see increased volume from them while we're building up the Alpha Card business at the same time," added Whitfield.
"Alpha has always been slightly unusual as a print company; we've got some interesting kit - stuff like our coating press, which may be of interest to Steffprint's clients - we own our factory and have room to expand and we have a good strong balance sheet. I think that has helped us to avoid some of the problems that have affected other print businesses."
Whitfield said that the loss of the Z Card business would result in a reduction in 2012/13 turnover, but that the acquisition of Steffprint's business, together with growth in AMS's own sales and its new Alpha Card products would put AMS on track for strong growth in 2013/14.
"We've got three nice strands to the business now that I never could have imagined 12 months ago," he added. "If you asked me then, I would have said we would probably do a deal to buy Z Card, whereas now we have the non-Z card piece of our business, which is growing, the new Alpha Card business, and now Steffprint."
According to the creditors report, Steffprint had been under "severe cashflow pressures for some time" and was in arrears to its landlord, trade suppliers, finance creditors and HMRC.
Managing director Michael Watson, who is now acting as a consultant to AMS, met with Leonard Curtis on 20 February and subsequently helped them to market the business to potential buyers.
Watson and his fellow directors Lee Hewitt and George Wilkinson sought interest from private equity investors and known competitors. Discussions were held with various parties; however, all bar AMS withdrew their interest.
AMS paid £45,000 for the business, according to the creditors report, and also agreed to pay March salaries totalling around £20,000, which Steffprint could not have paid. It has also taken on significant TUPE liabilities in respect of the 27 staff.
Whitfield said: "We’ve maintained continuity for the staff and the customers, but if the clients all walked away we’d be left with a significant six-figure bill.
"Credit to Steffprint, they’ve got some fantastic people and because of that the customer base is very loyal; the challenge for us is to continue to deliver the quality and service they are used to, which with the staff and equipment we’ve got plus those we’ve taken on from Steffprint, I’m sure we will do."
He added: "It’s bad news for creditors. I accept that and feel sorry for them, but I can honestly stand here, hand on heart, and say that was nothing to do with me."
Steffprint, which had a turnover of around £3m, had bought a new five-colour XL 105 in 2011 to replace a four year-old press of the same model.
However, according to the creditors report, the finance on this B1 press alone was costing Steffprint £25,000 a month, contributing to its cashflow problems.
Unencumbered assets included an ST100 stitching line and an MBO T800 folder, which have both been transferred to AMS’s Bradford site.
