Platinum Print deals direct with end-user clients. So when it looked at merging with another of the longest-established print companies in the north of the county, it wasn’t initiated by agents or other third parties. It came through a direct, if informal, face-to-face between the heads of both firms.
An after-work chat in a local gym between Platinum co-owner David Wyvill and his two counterparts from Harrogate Printing was the start. Few things can jolt a business more than a merger or acquisition, which can throw into the mix stress, complication and risk. The benefits of a well planned and executed union, however, can be varied and lucrative which is why “one conversation led to another” and soon turned to acquisition and merger, says Plummer.
The challenge
Platinum Print, a litho, digital, large-format and direct mail company, is about three miles from Harrogate Printing. Geographically close, in business terms the two were moving in different directions.
Harrogate Printing has stayed true to its traditional litho routes, adding digital printing as the technology came of age. Platinum Print’s rise, however, was less linear. Husband and wife David and Marina Wyvill launched their company at the back of a garage in the late 1980s.
Like the company they wanted to buy and then merge with their own more than 25 years later the Wyvills started out as traditional printers. But as business started to grow, so did the realisation that diversification was needed to survive and thrive in an ever-changing sector. This prompted them to branch into direct mail, graphics and large-format work.
Plummer explains: “Litho demand is what it is and always has been – strong, but very tough. However, large-format and digital are really taking off. The impetus behind the decision to acquire and merge was both our similarities and differences: both companies were similar in skillsets but different on what they offered and who they targeted. By bringing together about 60 years of combined experience, we could offer a much broader range of products to existing and future clients.”
And despite their close proximity, few customers were served by both companies, he adds: “We have been competitors, but also helped each other in the past. It was a good fit. Consolidation of equipment, staff and skills meanwhile would make the merged company one of the foremost providers of print in the north of England.”
The method
The acquisition was completed this January and then came the upheaval. Harrogate Printing’s £2.5m-turnover operation and all 20 of its staff moved the three miles across the fashionable spa town to join its new owner. Platinum Print, which at the time had 30 staff and a turnover of £3.5m, had taken on an adjoining building to extend its premises by 2,230sqm to 8,000sqm .
Plummer explains the move: “Choice of site was simple logistics, really. Our base was bigger than theirs. The factory was expanded by taking an adjoining unit to cope with additional prepress and finishing equipment, though Harrogate’s Heidelberg Speedmaster SX was sold, as was a Komori 528 press. Rather than shut down and move machinery, which could lose us two weeks of capacity, we decided to sell two machines and install a new five-colour Komori Lithrone S29 with coater.”
The deal provides expanded access for Harrogate Printing’s customers to direct mail and wide-format print, while folding and bookletmaking facilities came across to help Platinum cope with the higher volume throughput.
Although the two outfits now share the same location, their separate trading names were originally retained for an interim period, with Harrogate Printing director Colin Wilding continuing with the business in sales and co-director Philip Hall focusing on production.
Mergers are complex and Platinum Print turned to experts: solicitors Lupton Fawcett and accountants Lithgow Perkins. Harrogate Printing meanwhile was advised by Newtons Solicitors and accountants Holeys.
“However, mergers and acquisitions, as well as being technically complex can make people on both sides of the transaction nervous,” says Plummer. “They’re uncertain what the deal will mean and wonder whether and how they will fit into the new organisation.
“Fortunately we worked hard to ‘sell’ the deal internally, not just to customers. Because it was such a close fit and we knew capacity would rise and we could reassure staff from both companies that everyone had a job. There would be no duplication of skills or doubling up of roles.”
One of the biggest staff challenges turned out to be not so much fear of the unknown prompted by the merger but the nuts and bolts of work flows. Harrogate used Tharstern MIS technology, while Platinum used a Shuttleworth system.
“The Shuttleworth is a higher spec, more automated system, so it made sense to stick with this and teach staff to get used to the much higher levels of automation – we were already using the technology for work including web-to-print orders and processing job bags. We kept the Tharstern for historical background information purposes, but the Shuttleworth is our powerhouse.”
The result
The merger has created a 50-staff business with an anticipated combined turnover of around £6m in the next year. According to Plummer: “We have always believed in slow, steady, planned growth. We are not the types to jump in and try to change something in a massively dramatic way, but focus on little bits at a time. We are never going to grow in big leaps and bounds, which throws up more potential to fail.”
And so far the game plan is going well: “It has all been positive so far with no hitches or pitfalls. We had our best month ever in September; it was fantastic and there have been a huge amount of positives.”
But perhaps the biggest jump came in the summer when Wyvill and Plummer took the decision to lose the separate identities and bring the merged entities under the one name of PlatinumHPL with a flourish of rebranded letterheads, business cards and invoices.
“We wanted to keep the separate company name to start with until everybody was happy and comfortable with the way the merger was progressing. Customers as well as staff can feel an inherent insecurity when companies are acquired and merged, so it was important to keep some continuity with the past – both companies, after all, have a long and successful history and are well known in these parts.”
Plummer insists there were no big challenges, more a series of smaller ones, which a well-run print business should be able to tackle.
“We run an efficient business and when you bring another efficient business into the fold, it shouldn’t throw up insurmountable problems; you should already have enough good staff and systems in place to take on something as big as a merger, however daunting it may feel at first.”
VITAL STATISTICS
PlatinumHPL
Location Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Inspection host Mark Plummer
Size Turnover: £6m targeted for next year; Staff: 50
Established 1988
Products Short-run book production, leaflets, postcards, business cards, personalised print and mail campaigns; and specialist digital products such as CD wallets, A4 and A5 folders and pillow packs, large-format rigid products, exhibition stands, POS items. Clients include local cafe and drinks business Bettys & Taylors Group, Yorkshire Housing, Leeds Grand Theatre and Leeds Rhinos Rugby League Club
Kit Five-colour B2 Komori Lithrone S29C, four-colour B2 Komori 429 HUV, five-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster SM52, large-format Océ Arizona 360GT UV flatbed printer, Kongsberg XN24 digital cutting table, Océ Roll-fed eco-solvent printer and a CG130FXII plotter-vinyl cutter, mailing kit, digital equipment such as a Ricoh C9100, C901 colour and 8120 B+W, Konica Minolta bizhub Pro C6500e and extensive finishing capabilities
Inspection focus Organising a successful merger
TOP TIPS
Ask yourself why Examine your motives for merging businesses and be clear on why you want to merge and what you expect and need to get out of the union.
Do due diligence A proper audit will test the strategic fit of the merger and verify the value and capacity you expect is actually there or realistically achievable.
Manage the merger Create a team made up of finance, sales and marketing and production staff to smooth out integration of the two companies and set milestones.
Define key staff roles Identify the size of the management team and each person’s role early so everyone is clear what needs to be done and who does what.
Plan for risk Look ahead at what may go wrong to help you manage risks upfront. “Not being prepared for failure is failing to prepare,” says Plummer.
Prepare staff for change Frequent and honest communication with all staff is more likely to reassure employees, ensure loyalty and pave a way for smooth running during the merger.
Set realistic goals Everyone has to be ‘on message’ and share similar objectives, so all staff know goals, expectations and what needs to be accomplished.
