The deal, which was completed on Tuesday (17 December), will see revenue at Leicester-based Opus Trust increase by 50%, with a combined turnover of £42m.

Headquartered in Bellshill, just outside Glasgow, Critiqom, which had sales of £15.9m in 2018, according to its latest accounts filed at Companies House, specialises in mission-critical customer communications for the public and private sectors.

Opus Trust said both companies and their clients would benefit “from the synergy, strength and greater choice of services that they can now offer across a range of sectors”.

Critiqom delivers an end-to-end suite of data, print, post and multichannel services from its manufacturing sites in Bellshill and Warrington, Cheshire.

Working with clients from the same sectors, including utilities, financial services and healthcare, Opus Trust said the deal will enable it to grow its market share in the public sector and offer its “digital transformation expertise” to a larger client base, helping to achieve wider geographic reach and greater levels of customer satisfaction.

Opus Trust Communications chief executive Tony Strong said: “We are delighted to welcome Critiqom to the Opus family, the acquisition represents a key step in the delivery of our strategic plan, expanding the offerings both companies provide to clients and securing our position as partner of choice within the public sector.

“We are making considerable investment in infrastructure and people to enhance our digital capabilities, when combined with the complementary experience and capabilities of Critiqom, we are confident we can achieve greater client intimacy whilst simultaneously growing our market share.”

Critiqom chief executive Charles Sweeney added the acquisition “wasn’t just about shared skills and capabilities, but more importantly about shared values”.

“We wanted to identify a business that would enhance our offering and put our customers’ needs first,” he said.

“Opus Trust were an obvious choice and we are very much looking forward to starting a new exciting chapter as part of the Opus Trust Communications family.”

Opus Trust works with organisations across energy, water, financial services, telecoms, business services, travel and leisure, construction and the public sector, and on behalf of FTSE 100 companies.

Strong became chief executive at the business, which was recently rebranded from Opus Trust Marketing, in February this year after initially joining as its chief operating officer in October 2018.