The factory dates back to 1802 but has lain empty since staff and machinery were moved to a new site in Mitcham in the middle of 2002. Parent company Fulmar bought Baxter from WR Royle in 1997.

Fulmar group chief executive Mike Taylor said: We did work with the local council to try and find a manufacturer who would be interested in the site, without success.

The WE Baxter factory is now housed on a purpose-built site in Mitcham. It is a much more modern site and much closer to our headquarters in Croydon. It has four presses, the largest being B2, and it still specialises in manufacturing ring binders, so the Baxter name will live on, said Taylor.