The merger, which completed last week, was made possible through holdings company De Lisle Holdings, which is 50% owned by MPP production director Richard Green and sales director Ian McCloskey and 50% Northend CPS managing director Nigel Stubley.
De Lisle now owns both Northend CPS and MPP, which will run jointly as Northend. The MPP limited company will become dormant and all 12 members of staff at MPP along with its finishing kit will move into Northend CPS’ premises early next month.
Overseeing a combined business with sales of £4.7m, Green, McCloskey and Stubley will undertake discussions over the coming months to decide what form the newly established Northend’s management structure will take.
According to Green, the long-term plan is for he and McCloskey to buy out the remaining 50% of the holdings company from Stubley and take over Northend entirely.
“With the way the industry is at the minute, as margins are shrinking and prices are increasingly falling in a race to the bottom, we saw this merger as the best way for our companies to move forward,” said Green.
“If we were to invest for the next level on our own that might require £800,000 of investment and we do not have the space for that in our turnover. Together as Northend, we will be able to invest in the business to build a full-service print house.
“Print in Sheffield is in a period of transition with the shutdown of both Loop Print and Evolution Print in recent weeks. That obviously means we have a lot of new customers coming to us now and we are concentrating on them at this stage as we must not let anybody down.”
MPP sold its five-colour-plus-coater Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 before the move, owing to the five-colour RMGT (Ryobi) 925 LED-UV press already onsite at Northend, which was purchased by Northend CPS in May 2017.
Finishing capabilities drafted to the 1,860sqm premises by MPP will include machinery for die-cutting, wire-binding, guillotining, bookletmaking and folding. Early investments for Northend will include a laminator and a new digital press, according to Green.
Stubley said: “I was looking for a potential partner for the past 12-18 months because it is perfectly apparent that the market needs to consolidate and the latest developments in Sheffield are simply a microcosm of that.
“MPP was certainly the best fit for us and I am happy we have been able to do a deal that will suit everyone involved.”
Founded in 1889, Northend CPS currently employs 35 members of staff and alone turned over £3.45m. MPP, which was set up five years ago, brings an additional £1.25m to the business and, according to Green, the aim is to quickly push the total turnover up to the £5m mark.
