According to some, alarm bells have been ringing for a while and the speed of the process seems to compound this view.

The fact that Pindar doesn’t rely on contractual work in the same way that a magazine printer does, and that KPMG was given a little over a week to find potential suitors, implies that time isn’t on their side.

The sad truth is that even with the pinkest of rose-tinted glasses, it seems unlikely that a buyer will be willing to take on the £19.5m pension deficit, especially when you consider Walstead only paid £500,000 more for St Ives’ entire web operation. So logic suggests that the best-case scenario for all directly concerned, including staff, is for the company to change hands via a pre-packed administration.

Hunting for an investor or, marginally more likely, a buyer in a sector as aggressive as the web market is akin to emptying buckets of fish blood in shark infested waters. While I’m sure it will attract a few predatory suitors, the question is, will they be interested in swallowing the company whole or sitting back and seeing what develops, with a view to possibly nibbling away at the firm’s carcass, should the worst happen?

My fear is that the latter is the most likely scenario.

Of course, by the time you read this there’s a chance that the situation will have been resolved, and if that proves to the case, in a funny sort of way, I hope I’ll be left with egg all over my face.

Darryl Danielli Editor, PrintWeek