A spokeswoman denied this. She said: "This situation has been mitigated by the use of reserve stock kept on hand specifically for such purposes.

"As a result, we have been able to fulfil all customer requirements for gift vouchers within our shops and have seen no decline in sales."

She added that the company had found another supplier and that new vouchers were being produced that would take over from existing stocks.

However, she could not confirm which company had received the contract at this time.

Industry sources claimed Paragon, which bought BemroseBooth out of administration, won the tender, although the company was unavailable for comment at this time. 

BemroseBooth went into administration in June of this year, with Paragon Group purchasing the remaining Hull and Teesside sites in July.