Yesterday, (28 February) the Kent company filed another Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators, which gives the business protection from action by its creditors while the remaining details of the sale are thrashed out.

“A deal has been agreed and is in the process of being finalised. It should be completed today,” said Smith & Williamson partner Steve Adshead, who is handling the sale.

The Ashford-based web and sheetfed magazine printer was put up for sale at the beginning of the year. It has since made nearly half of its workforce redundant.

The likely purchaser is understood to be investment firms Valtegra and Cyrus Investment Management, through new company Headley 1881.

The firm's existing management team has not tabled a bid. 

Update: it has also emerged that another new company, Stones Ashford, has been set up by Richard Walsh and Mark Scurr, directors of Bicester sheetfed magazine printer Henry Stone. Walsh led the management buy-out team that acquired the former Polestar Stones and Wheatons businesses from administrators at PricewaterhouseCoopers last year. 

PrintWeek was unable to reach Walsh for comment at the time of writing.