A small commercial printer owed 50,000 by design agent Fahrenheit Creative says it will not see a penny and others have said they are owed money by the same firm.

Fahrenheit had designed brochures for a professional institute which it had then asked six-staff printer StylePress to produce.

Mike Jennings, a partner of the Dunstable firm, said he had obtained a statutory demand against the company, which is based in Londons Rivington Street and run by graphic designer Christopher Greenhough.

But winding-up proceedings were futile because they cost around 3,000 and would have ruined his slender chance of recovering any cash, said Jennings.

"As far as I know they are still trading... I can wind them up but wont get anything."

David Whitaker, a partner of National Print Database, registered the judgement against Fahrenheit in June on behalf of StylePress.

"There is no way forward, Greenhough probably has no assets," he said.

Fahrenheit Creative had five County Court judgements ranging from 369 to 9,700 served against it in the last year and is listed as active at Companies House.

London digital printer 1st Byte said it was owed 3,300 by Fahrenheit but had put the loss "down to bad experience," said managing director Lawrence Dalton. Another firm said Fahrenheit owed it money but refused to be named, saying it was taking legal action.

Greenhough, who has set up another firm 451 New Media at the same Rivington Street address, said it would make "no material difference" to comment at present.

"Its not a deliberate policy to try to do people out of their money," he said. "Its a very long story and now is not the time to talk about it."

Story by Jez Abbott