Phil Duffy and David Whitehouse of MCR were appointed late this afternoon to the 44-staff business, which had an estimated turnover of £5.88m.

Questions had been raised over GAE after Litho Supplies and two other subsidiaries went into administration late last year.

Litho Supplies and one of the subsidiaries, Muro Digital, have now been sold, with negotiations over Graphica Plus ongoing.

A spokesman for MCR told PrintWeek today: "I can confirm that Graphic Arts Equipment entered into administration this afternoon. A review is taking place and we are seeking a sale as a going concern."

Duffy added: "The decision to enter administration follows the administration of Litho Supplies on 22 December 2009. The business will continue to trade with the full support of its manufacturers, suppliers and staff. The priority is to identify and negotiate a going concern sale of the business."

At this stage, no redundancies have been made at the Perivale-based business.

GAE handles equipment from a large number of finishing companies in the UK - its flagship business is Japanese equipment manufacturer Horizon.