Thus the 96 days prior to our meeting have been a flurry of activity as Coxon and his senior management team, including the other half of the MBO team, operations director Karl Gater, embarked on a huge communications drive.

"When we gathered the staff to tell them Tony [Jones] had sold the business there were a few gasps – although most had an inkling that something was in the offing," says Coxon. "Then when we told them that it was Karl and myself who were taking the company forward, the reception was jubilant. I think a lot of that was relief at the fact that it was going to be business as usual."

Key suppliers and the printer’s top 50 customers were all similarly supportive, aided by their close relationship with Coxon and Gater, who were been responsible for much of the day-to-day running of the business in their pre-MBO roles. "The response from our customers was hugely positive," says Coxon. "Both in terms of being happy with the management continuity and also because they were extremely pleased for Karl and I."

With all the key stakeholderts on board, Coxon is now relaxed as we sit in the boardroom and talk about everything from golf – and the thrilling European Ryder Cup at the nearby Celtic Manor – to his plans for the continued success of the Blackwood, Wales-based sheetfed magazine printer.

Structured deal
Over the past seven years, Pensord has earned itself a reputation as a customer-focused, forward-thinking business. Furthermore, it went from a position of being underinvested (prior to former chief executive Tony Jones’ own MBO in 2003) to being equipped with the latest pre-press, sheetfed printing and finishing technology. It is clear from speaking to Coxon that this reputation is quite rightly a prized asset to both the management and staff at the company, so it was no surprise that the first 100 days also saw a new marketing initiative and some significant investment announcements from the printer.

"There were rumours that, post-MBO, things were going to be a bit tight – that the business would be too highly leveraged and that therefore cash would be tight, investment and marketing spend would be cut and the business would stagnate a little," says Coxon. "In fact, the deal was deliberately structured to allow significant headroom for continued investment in new technology and in marketing."

On the technology front, Pensord has invested in a new eight-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 and a Fujifilm-supplied Screen platesetter, with a bindery investment set to follow in 2011. While on the marketing side, Coxon launched a new half-price PPA membership offer for the firm’s clients in September, and has reaffirmed the company’s support for events including IPAC’s Conference and Awards and the mediaPro and Publishing Expo shows.

However, Coxon’s ideas for the business extend much further than "business as usual" and in fact, he is the first to admit that while the phrase is accurate and in some regards reassuring, in other ways it is in danger of undermining the ambitions that he and Gater harbor for the firm. Coxon is keen to drive the printer’s investment in new technology, where it has already had success with its digital editions offering. "We’re investing more in that side of the business to allow our customers to make their magazines and their brand more accessible to their clients," says Coxon. "We’re taking the legwork out of wading through a sea of software to find out how to deliver the content through all the different channels and we’re enabling them to get good edited content to page quicker – and that won’t always mean the printed page."

While this might sound like turkeys voting for Christmas to some, Coxon is adamant that the printed product has a future alongside its digital cousins – and that it is Pensord’s duty to serve its customers across all channels. Despite the tough times for publishers and printers alike in 2009, which saw turnover and profits drop at Pensord as the result of bad debt, Coxon sees a bright future for the industry.

"We’re in the process of closing down this financial year and all our attention is on delivering a good final result," he says. "We’re up 12% year-on-year at the moment with Q4 to go and we’ll be budgeting for growth again next year."