Created by UK banks and the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the fund is looking to take stakes of between 10% and 50% in growing businesses with turnovers of between £10m and £100m. In return, businesses receive investments between £2m and £10m although new figures from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) suggest only 5% of SMEs have funding requirements surpassing £1m.

Phil McCabe, media and PR manager at the FPB, said it was "questionable" many print firms would be able to benefit. "The bulk of printers will be unable to claim any of this. We need to see a greater level of affordable lending to aid growth in smaller UK print businesses," he said.