Insolvency practitioner Leonard Curtis was appointed administrator of the Saul Loggenberg-owned business on 7 September 2010, before the assets were sold to Glossop Cartons on 23 September 2010.

Although Leonard Curtis made several redundancies when it was appointed, the 18 remaining staff have all been taken on by Glossop, which is in the process of moving Clowes from its Manchester base.

According to Glossop Cartons owner Jacky Sidebottom, there were a number of factors that contributed to it investing in Clowes.

She said: "The two businesses were similar in many respects meaning that synergies in terms of products and processes already existed. We shared a number of customers so the opportunity to consolidate our position in the marketplace presented itself.

"The physical location of the firm was important too, based as it is just a few miles down the road from our head office. The purchase will make an immediate impact on our bottom line but, more importantly, it provides us with a stronger foundation for the future."

Sidebottom added that an integration plan for the combined business, which now employs 58 staff and has a turnover expected to be around £5m, is being put in place and it is unsure yet if the Clowes name will continue or if it will be rebranded.

For Clowes Printers’ employees the sale ends more than a year of uncertainty after the company was sold to controversial entrepreneur Loggenberg in July 2009.

Clowes sales director Barry Sutton said: "We are all very happy to be here. It has been an uncertain time of late but after this deal the future appears to be a bit more secure."