Online wedding and celebration supplies business Confetti has been bought out of administration in a deal that safeguards 34 jobs, administrators at RSM Tenon have confirmed. The Manchester-based company was placed into administration last month, days after being acquired by online retailer The Hut Group.

Northwich-based The Hut acquired the loss-making Confetti from Findel through its subsidiary Metro Holdings on 12 August as part of a £600,000 deal. The transaction comprised the purchase of CWIO Ltd (formerly Findel Direct Ltd), Confetti Network Ltd and I Want One of Those.com Ltd.

Following the decision to put Confetti into administration, RSM Tenon immediately made 48 of its staff redundant and closed its five stores in Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham, Reading and London. It also put the wedding plans of thousands of couples in doubt.

The business has now been bought by North West entrepreneur George Buchan who established a new company called Confetti Celebrations to complete the transaction. He has built a number of IT businesses including JM Computing and Service Source Europe. He is also a director of technology company ACAL Supply Chain.

Insider understands the business was acquired for £750,000 and will be run solely as an online venture although Buchan could not be reached for comment.

Kenny Craig, joint administrator and recovery irector at RSM Tenon, said: “We have seen considerable interest in the business in the last few weeks and are delighted to have secured such a successful outcome.”

Imran Hakim, the founder of children's toy iTeddy, and a group of entrepreneurs were in the running to buy the business. He told Insider: “We were in talks but pipped to the post in the end. We wish the new owner all the best. I think a new structure has a lot of potential.”

In its accounts for the year to 2 April 2010, CWIO, whose operations comprise I Want One of Those.com and Confetti, reported an operating loss from continuing operations of £3.6m and a statutory pre-tax loss of £13m. As of 2 April, it had gross assets of £5.7m and net liabilities of £19.3m.

Brian Higgins and Tim Ritchie of Rickitt Mitchell negotiated and structured the deal.