The firm will finance the restructure by the sale-lease-back of its main site in the West Midlands for 2.44m, to avoid adding on to its net borrowings of 5.5m.

Cradley was due to make an announcement after PrintWeek went to press, but an industry source estimated that 73 jobs were under threat almost a quarter of the 300-strong workforce.

Around 35 jobs were cut last summer after the firm's first-half trading results showed the print division's operating loss had risen by 12% to 307,000.

This year's interim results showed signs of improvement, with print's operating loss down to 273,000 and the publishing division's operating loss falling from 888,000 to 124,000.

Cradley Group Holdings said the traditional slow-down period of January and February had been "significantly deeper" than expected.
It said the firm's strategy to focus on its core strengths, including magazine production and press-finished products for the retail sector, would require more job cuts.

The Cradley Heath site will be sold to the group's Directors Pension Scheme for 2.44m, after which Cradley will enter into a 12-year lease, initially paying 310,000 rent per year.

Cradley managing director Chris Jordan was unavailable for comment.