The direct mail arm of Blackburns has been sold to a management team led by joint managing directors Andrew Cowman and Nick Atkinson.

　　Administrators KPMG signed the deal with the management today having made 114 employees redundant this morning. 151 staff will retain their jobs as a result of the deal.

　　KPMG said in a statement that it will continue to trade the printing arm of the company on a limited basis with 33 staff and is "keen to talk to any party that may have an interest in the business and assets".

　　Joint administrator and KPMG restructuring director Paul Flint said: "I am very pleased to have achieved a sale that preserves a good number of jobs in a difficult market, while of course it is disappointing that some redundancies were unavoidable.

　　"This sale allows the management team to trade the direct mail part of the company, giving the business and its employees the prospect of future prosperity."