The Manchester arm of Ward Knowles has been sold to a newly formed company, believed to be run by the company's landlord.

　　According to administrator KPMG, a sale of the business was completed to Armin & Butler, a new company formed on 4 August 2009, last Friday (14 August).

　　The B2 printer has one director, Maurice Hastie, who is understood to be the landlord of the Manchester site of Ward Knowles, which collapsed at the end of last month.

　　Hastie could not be reached for comment but said in a statement that it was business as usual and that he hoped there would be no interuption to service.

　　According to a statement from the administrators, John Proctor, formerly sales manager of Ward Knowles' Manchester facility, has been appointed as sales director.

　　He said: "We have had tremendous support from our customer base for our acquisition to succeed. We are delighted to have secured the site's future."

　　It is unclear how many jobs have been saved at the business but, when KPMG was appointed, it made 11 of its 23 employees redundant.

　　Two weeks ago, the company's main facility in Accrington was sold to Paragon, saving 70 jobs.

　　However, Paragon was not interested in taking on the Manchester facility and an alternative buyer was sought.