In a statement, Bezier said that after a strategic review it planned to focus on its Global Brands business, headquartered in London’s Soho.
It described the decision to pull the plug on Wakefield as "sadly unavoidable". The firm said the economic downturn had "accelerated a move by clients to cut their print budgets and instead move more into digital and social media."
Staff were informed about the situation this morning.
A spokeswoman said 400 employees were affected by the administration, with some 150 remaining in the continuing part of the business.
Manufacturing at the Leicester facility was relocated to Wakefield last year. It has emerged that most of the business and employees at Leicester working on creative and prototyping had been moved into the Brands business prior to the restructuring announcement.
In a statement, the group’s chief executive James Buckley said: "It has been an incredibly tough trading climate for the print manufacturing businesses as new forms of marketing replace more traditional forms of print media.
"In making this decision we had to take a view of what was best for the whole company going forward and we think our Global Brands division, which works for the likes of Warner Bros, P&G and Revlon will benefit from having the full focus of management’s time and the company’s resources to support it going forward.
"This decision was not made lightly and we are extremely grateful to all our colleagues in print for their dedication. We will do our upmost to support them through this transition."
Employees at Wakefield have expressed disquiet on social networks about whether they will be paid or not.
It’s not yet clear whether Deloitte will try to find a buyer for the Wakefield site, or whether it will be closed down and the assets sold off.
PrintWeek is awaiting clarification about whether Bezier’s Poole-based sheetfed printing facility is affected by the restructure, or not.
UPDATE at 15:30: Deloitte has confirmed that Poole is also going into administration.
Bezier is owned by private equity house HIG Europe, which acquired the business in 2011.
