Joint administrator Zelf Hussain said the job losses were “an inevitable consequence” of the loss of key customers at the business.

In a statement, he said: “We still believe that there is a strong underlying business within the companies and we are focused on doing all we can to preserve value and maintain the business while we look to achieve a sale.

“We have had a large amount of interest from potential buyers and ask that suppliers and customers work with us to try to deliver a lasting solution for the business.”

The breakdown of job losses across the Polestar factories in administration is as follows: Sheffield: 65, Chantry: 67, Bicester: 17, Stones: six, Wheatons: six.

In addition, 22 jobs have gone at the group’s Dunstable head office.  

Hussain and fellow joint administrator Peter Dickens also confirmed that all the affected staff would be paid, and thanked them for their support and co-operation.

A number of redundancies – 16 – had already been proposed at Bicester prior to the administration, with the shut down one of its web presses.

The Polestar Group had around 1,500 employees so the redundancies confirmed by PwC represent circa 12% of the workforce.

Group HR director Simon Jones is understood to be one of the people to have lost their jobs.

The situation regarding other executives at the business was unclear at the time of writing.