Wrap Film Systems, the company sold by entrepreneur Gio Benedetti to its management seven years ago, enjoyed a healthy financial year with a sharp drop in finance costs, Companies House accounts have revealed.

But the business sold by Benedetti International for £21million in 2007 just before the crash still has net debt of more than £18m.

Mr Benedetti, whose last trading business was put into administration last year with more than £1m of creditor debts, retained a stake in the business at the time when it was sold to the buy-out backed by Close Brothers and Barclays.

The latest accounts show the company narrowed its shareholder deficit in 2013 from the previous year's £3.14m to £2.41m, while net debt came down from £19.7m to £18.2m.

Wrap Film is based at Telford, in Shropshire, and in 2006 it made pre-tax profits of £1.9m on turnover of £22m, after securing a string of supermarket contracts for its innovative film wrap product.

Turnover last year rose from £52m to £54.4m, and underlying operating profit from £3.76m to £3.86m. Finance costs of £1.5m and goodwill write-off at £1.1m pegged back the pre-tax profit to £1.2m, almost treble the previous year.