Due to move into larger, specially redesigned offices – currently under renovation – the firm has continued to focus on hiring, having managed to grow from eight staff to 20 over the past 12 months.

Semaphore’s growth has largely come from an influx of blue-chip clients, according to Christian Williams, the company’s operations director.

He told Printweek that around 50% of the firm’s new business likewise came from referrals, which Williams put down to the company’s focus on a bespoke approach to jobs.

“Over the past three years, we have shifted to offering our clients a bespoke service,” he said.

“Rather than just giving our clients a handful of products, we give them the whole hog. For example, if we have a client who is opening a chain of hotels in London, whereas a few years ago, we would have just done the signage.

“Now, we’ll do all of the surveying, we’ll do all the drawings, project management, creative, reproduction, installation and maintenance. It will be the full package.”

Williams added that clients seemed to have tired of dealing with multiple suppliers.

“They really don’t want the headache,” he said.

“They want one supplier to go in and just do everything.”

Semaphore’s end-to-end approach has seen it double its turnover from around £850,000 to between £1.4 – £1.6m in the past 12 months. Next year, it hopes to reach £2m.

Semaphore is looking to spend to support this growth. Aiming to recruit more sales staff, designers and fitters, it will also make the move to a new facility on its estate, renovated by an office design company.

The company’s fleet of largely Mimaki wide-format machines will also soon be supplemented with a hybrid press, Williams said.

“We’re just going through the nitty gritty at the moment, trying to work out which one is right for us,” he said.

“To be honest, it will probably be an EFI, or potentially a Durst – but we haven’t pressed go on the purchase yet.”