The company cited "cashflow problems" as the reason for its demise.

Dudley Print continues to trade but a buyer is also being sought. Its 45 employees are part of the 71 staff that remain from an original 600-strong workforce.

Grant Thorntons Andrew Conquest and Tony Flynn have been appointed as joint administrative receivers.

According to a spokesman for Grant Thornton, Dudley had been looking for a potential buyer for the last few months but could not find one.

Staff at the groups headquarters in Twelve Trees are assisting in the winding-up of the company.

Howarine Calvert, the London-based distributor of glues, adhesives and padding presses, has purchased the intellectual property of the company.

Dudley Stationery and Dudley UK, both based in Bow, were placed into administration by their management in October 2001 with an estimated 15m of trade creditors.

However, the companies involved, mainly paper suppliers including Antalis, Ovenden UK, Papyrus, Premier Paper and Robert Horne Paper, unanimously voted to accept its company voluntary arrangement, meaning they would receive 3p in the pound (PrintWeek, 7 December).

During the previous administration, Bob Bailey of PricewaterhouseCoopers said he believed that if the next few years went well for Dudley, there could possibly be an additional payout for the firms unsecured creditors.

As PrintWeek went to press, no information was available as to the final amount owed to creditors.

Story by Rachel Barnes