The trio, Raymond Nevitt, Jeremy Greene and Kay Boardman have been convicted of a £3.25m fraud against their creditors, namely IBM and Barclays.

All three defendants were directors of companies in the Ravelle Group, consisting of Ravelle Limited, PC2GO Limited and Ravelle Printers Limited trading as Just Printers Limited ­ all based in Trafford Park, Manchester.

Originally due to be sentenced last week at Manchester Crown Court, ­Nevitt, Greene and Boardman will now be sentenced on 20 May. All three are on bail, although Nevitt has absconded and is on the run. Police are appealing for people to come forward with details of his whereabouts.

Initially Nevitt was convicted of five counts of fraudulent trading, Greene was convicted of three counts and Boardman pleaded guilty at a pre-trial hearing to one count.

The case has been running since 2001 when it was referred to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) by Greater Manchester Police. The defendants were charged in February 2005 and the trial opened on 8 January this year.

At the time, detective constable Julian King, from Greater Manchester Police commercial fraud unit, said: “Dozens of staff from Ravelle in Trafford Park lost their jobs as a result of Nevitt’s crimes. Several small companies also failed both in the UK and on the continent as a result.”

An SFO representative said it was unable to comment because the case was ongoing.