The move will allow co-founders Adam Carnell and James Kinsella to take up “central positions” overseeing the development of the two parts of the group’s operations, which include the burgeoning surgical mask business set up earlier this year.

Carnell said the duo were delighted to hand over the reins to “someone who knows the business inside and out”.

“We know that Mark is the person who can confidently lead our print division through all future developments,” he said.

Young studied graphic design at the University of Sunderland and joined the group eight years ago as a member of its artwork team.

He quickly became the studio manager, and then moved on to increasingly senior roles as head of customer experience at Instantprint and then, in the summer of 2018, head of trade printing operation Route 1 Print.

Fast-growing Bluetree Group is the UK’s biggest online trade printer and had sales of nearly £41.5m in its most recent accounts.

The 9,300sqm unit that houses its print division in Wath upon Dearne is home to a huge range of printing and finishing equipment including the UK’s first Landa S10P B1 inkjet press as well as digital presses from Fujifilm, HP, Screen and Xerox. It also has battery of Heidelberg litho presses: three eight-colour B1 Speedmasters and a ten-colour XL 75.

Young said he was honoured to be given the opportunity and was excited about future growth despite the obvious challenged presented by the Covid-19 pandemic this year.

“It was Adam and James that first interviewed me in 2012 and I’ve learned so much from working with them since. They’ve built an amazing team here, all of whom have helped me learn and develop over the years,” he said.

“I’m ready and more committed than ever to making Bluetree a success.”

Recruitment of a replacement to take over Young's previous responsibilities is underway.

Its bold move investment in mask-making equipment made it the first UK manufacturer of the much-needed Type IIR surgical masks, with the firm subsequently winning a huge contract from the Department for Health & Social Care. The Mask Box business is part of Bluetree’s new Medical division.

The expansion means the group now employs more than 500 staff.