Lasgo was included in the sale when BMG Rights Management acquired Chrysalis for £107m earlier this year but Lassman explained it was never part of BMG's core strategy of acquiring publishing interests.

"When BMG bought Chrysalis PLC it was pretty obvious that they were buying it for the publishing interests and not for Lasgo trading," he said.

Lassman, who founded Lasgo in 1978, therefore led a consortium to buy the business that included three other senior members of the Lasgo ...