Fellow Birmingham printshop Pinstripe Print was commissioned in 2010 to produce a tax booklet by Highfield Print, owned by John  Colley.

But the payment, estimated at approximately £22,000, was never received and the two companies entered into a two-year dispute over the invoice.

When communication with Highfield Print broke down, Pinstripe Print took up litigation proceedings, but according to Michael Lynch of Lewis Onions Solicitors who represented Pinstripe Print, this still did not resolve the situation.

A default judgement was ordered in favour of Pinstripe Print on 22 June 2012, but Highfield Print still failed to pay the money owed.

Eventually, Pinstripe Print brought a winding up petition against its debtor, which was heard at Birmingham District Registry on 28 February.

Highfield Print was ordered to be wound up, although Lyon told PrintWeek that he was not confident that he would recoup what was owed.

He said: "Winding somebody up is very expensive and people like that need to be dealt with very severely; the law has no bite to it.

"I wasn’t going to let it go on the basis that a lot of money was owed. I’m not satisfied with the outcome because I want my money back, and the people who worked hard to produce the work have basically done it free of charge.

"The industry needs to be rid of those types of people; it’s a real shame that we have to contend with dealing with them."

Colley was unavailable for comment.