In May the Luxembourg-headquartered company had confirmed plans to float the business on the Spanish stock exchange, in a move intended to raise some €315m (£277m).

Earlier this month it went on to set a tentative price range of €0.60-€1.20 for the Initial Public Offering (IPO).

However, today (21 June) the business announced that the plans had been put on hold.

In a statement, Lecta’s board said: “The board of directors of Lecta has decided not to pursue a listing at this point despite the positive response shown by potential investors. Lecta and its shareholders will continue to assess all options to optimise value for all stakeholders.”

Spanish business newspaper CincoDías reported that, despite a reduction in the offer price range, there had been insufficient take-up from investors.

No further information from Lecta was available at the time of writing.

Lecta is the largest producer of coated paper in Southern Europe and has mills in France, Italy and Spain. It also makes speciality papers including self-adhesive, metallised and thermal grades. The business made EBITDA of €125m on sales of €1.4bn last year, and cut its pre-tax losses by 45% to €11.7m.