Michel Moeijes of Lawyers Tanger was appointed to work with Buhrs Mailing Solutions on Monday (28 June), while a German firm, LTS, has been appointed to handle Buhrs German subsidiaries, Buhrs-ITM and Betron.

Moeijes told PrintWeek: "For the past month the Buhrs management was trying to negotiate to sell the company to a strong financial partner.

"However, when this did not lead to any result, the bank ceased all credit facilities because it was concerned it could be held liable for downpayments made by Buhrs' customers for machinery."

According to a joint statement from Moeijes and Buhrs chief executive Joost van der Klooster, published on Buhrs' website, the insolvency process is expected to take "a couple of weeks".

The statement said: "During this phase Buhrs will operate as much as possible under normal conditions. Buhrs is making every effort to avoid delays in delivery; we apologize for any delays that might occur."

Moeijes added: "At this moment I'm negotiating with some parties and I anticipate the company will be sold in two to three weeks.

"The business will continue as much as possible in that period, in that it cannot deliver new machinery but it can still operate the service division."

Buhrs implemented a global reorganisation programme from 2008-2010 that led to a 40% cost reduction.

Employee levels dropped from 360 before the restructuring to around 250 people at its current size.

The company recorded "substantial" losses in 2008 and 2009, but has predicted that it will be profitable by the end of 2010, while order intake for the year-to-date is up 25% on the same period last year.

At Ipex in May it was announced that Buhrs equipment would be distributed in the UK by Swiss finishing manufacturer Kern. However, the firms are currently going through due diligence and no deal has been signed. Kern UK general manager Peter Jolley said: "We will be keeping an eye on the situation."