Joint administrators Scott Bevan and Rebecca Dacre of Mazars were appointed at the Walsall wide-format printer on 2 February.

The administrators said that NEC Graph-Fix had been “hit by declining turnover as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic” and suffered pressure on working capital as a result.

It did not take up any Covid support loans, according to Mazars.

Mazars said the sale of the business and certain assets to TNJ Holdings had saved 22 jobs over two sites.

Bevan said: “The closure of the business would have resulted in the redundancy of all employees following Christmas. The sale of the business preserves the employment of staff and the economic value in the business which would otherwise have been lost as a result of the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.” 

Mazars did not specify the format of the sale, and whether it was a pre-pack or not.

Tim James was the sole director of NEC Graph-Fix at the time of administration, and was listed alongside Debbie James as having a controlling interest in the business.

The firm had also been an early partner of 3D products specialist StackaWraps back in 2018, but StackaWraps director Richard Peter told Printweek the companies had not worked together for some time.

The NEC Graph-Fix website now diverts to NEC Visual Communications, a trading style of TNJ Holdings.

It lists its services as large-format printing, point-of-sale, retail and exhibition graphics and cites a number of blue-chip customers in its client base including Coca-Cola, The National Trust, McDonald’s and Virgin Atlantic.

TNJ Holdings was incorporated in February 2018. Its directors are Tim James and sales director David Ragan, who was appointed as a director of the firm on 7 February.

Companies House filings show that Tim James has a controlling interest in the business.

Printweek could not reach Tim James for comment at the time of writing.