Richard Hawes and Clare Baldwin of Deloitte were appointed administrators of the £41m business last Monday (27 March) with 123 of the firm’s circa 300-strong workforce made redundant the same day.

Anton Group chief executive Malcolm Lane-Ley is understood to have left the business last Thursday and a further 48 staff were made redundant at the Laindon, Essex business yesterday.

Around 130 staff currently remain with the business, completing work in progress.

According to a statement from Deloitte, the company is still trading and it remained hopeful that it could find a buyer for the business.

Deloitte said: “We are still in active communication with interested parties, with the hope a buyer can be found for all or parts of the business.

“We have been working closely with customers and the workforce to keep them updated at this difficult time for all concerned.”

The statement from Deloitte contradicts speculation that the company had effectively ceased trading after Paragon Group was understood to have withdrawn its potential interest in buying the business.

However, PrintWeek understands that in recent days the site’s unencumbered kit has been made available for sale.

Deloitte was unavailable for further comment, beyond its statement, at the time of writing.