NPM Group’s three subsidiaries, including the eponymous direct and transactional mail specialist NPM, continuous stationery printer Reelform and B1 printer Premier Print, were placed into administration by the company’s management on 20 March.

Joint administrator Peter Kubik of UHY Hacker Young said: “We managed to sell Reelform and NPM to The Print Factory on 22 March. However, we had to close Premier Print down immediately with the loss of around 40 jobs.”

TPF’s purchase of the two Derby-based companies, for an undisclosed amount, has saved more than 100 jobs. “Both companies were sold as going concerns, with all 110 staff in tow,” said Kubik.

However, DM sources have speculated that NPM could potentially be amalgamated with TPF’s Northampton-based DM facility, TPF Direct, leading to possible job losses further down the road.

A TPF spokesman said: “Amalgamating the two companies is obviously one option, but there’s no commitment either way – we want to do what’s right for both businesses.”

Meanwhile, Reelform, which does not have a direct counterpart in TPF’s manufacturing battery, looks set to become the firm’s continuous stationery specialist.

Richard Hannaford, managing director of Reelform, said: “As part of the TPF Group, we now have the opportunity to take the business to the next level, while maintaining a high degree of independence and securing the long-term future for our people.”

NPM is understood to have lost a major contract, worth around £1.5m a year, six months ago and was unable to recover.

TPF Group’s last foray into the M&A market was in early 2005, when it snapped up Wace and McCorquodale Confidential Print (MCP) within the space of three months.

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NPM GROUP FACTS
Companies NPM (direct mail), Reelform (stationery), Premier Print (B1 printer)
2005 turnover £13.2m
2005 pre-tax profit £754,902
Employees approx. 150
Clients Tesco, numerous county councils