It is understood that the Cambridge site was closed last week and that parts of the B1 magazine printer have been merged with Manchester-based ESL Studio.

Administrator Graham Wolloff, of Elwell, Watchorn & Saxton, was appointed to Piggott Black Bear (Cambridge) in September last year.

However, print consortium Celinco bought the business and assets two weeks later and continued to trade the company under the name Piggott Black Bear Printing.

It is unclear, since last week's closure of the Cambridge site, whether Piggott Black Bear has ceased to trade or not. According to files at Companies House, Piggott Black Bear and Piggott Black Bear (Cambridge) are in liquidation and receivership, respectively.

However, Piggott Black Bear Holdings and Piggott Black Bear Printing are still active on Companies House with Johanna Hiney listed as the director of both.

Hiney, who was unavailable for comment, is also understood to be Celinco's sales director.

The telephone number for Piggott Black Bear now diverts to the ESL Studio group, which consists of print businesses Engraving Services and The Studio.

According to Companies House records, Jason Walker is named as the sole director of Manchester-based ESL Studio, with Michael Bennett the sole director of Engraving Services.

Bennett told PrintWeek that he had no link to Piggott Black Bear, while Walker declined to comment.

In October, Unite announced that it was to take legal action against the both Piggott and Celinco over a series of alleged breaches of contract and unfair dismissal charges.

Steve Ireland, regional officer for Unite, said today: "They got rid of people when the company went into administration and staff made claims against them, and staff have since been told they have been laid off and haven't received pay.

"Their behaviour is outrageous and we will pursue them for our members. It shows disrespect for their staff, and even if the company has moved to the North, we will pursue them."

In November last year, Piggott Black Bear managing director Simon Singleton resigned from the company after the buyout by Celinco, joining Bedford-based Swan Print.

At the time, he claimed that he had not been paid by Celinco for the month of October.

Piggott Black Bear, which had a turnover of £3.5m and printed journals, magazines and high-quality corporate and commercial colour print, went into administration on 1 September following a sharp decline in orders.

It was formed in 2004 following the merger of Piggott Printers and Black Bear Press, which together had more than 180 years of print experience.

Following Celinco's acquisition of Piggott Black Bear, Hiney said Celinco's intention was to run the business on its existing footing using the current staff.

Speaking at the time, she said: "In addition to this commitment, Celinco has other exciting offerings they will bring to this venture including a full marketing service to existing customers."

The company described itself as a print consortium that could offer existing customers "a full marketing service from press through to radio, TV and online capabilities", along with a digital print operation.