The sale and leaseback of the Somerset colour commercial and book printer's site in Frome, along with a proposed equity issue, will raise the 6.5m necessary to complete the restructure, reduce gearing and provide funds for further investment.

It has entered into a consultation with staff and the union over the planned move of its Weston-super-Mare B1 plant to Frome, which managing director Adrian Huett (pictured) anticipated would be over by the end of next month.

The relocation of Weston follows the previous amalgamation of the firm's digital print and repro operations into Frome, which took place in 2004. Around 3.1m of cost savings were achieved through that move, and Huett said the Weston move would save a further 2.4m.

"We're seeking a 2.4m further saving to take our total saving to 5.5m we know that needs to be done," said Huett, who added that he was "aligning the business to the current market conditions".

Along with some of Weston's 54 staff, it is expected that three B1 KBA and MAN Roland presses will be moved to Frome, which already houses six KBA large-format sheetfed machines and one MAN, giving it the equivalent capacity of 24 B1 machines.

Some of the investment funds have gone towards a new 12,000cph Kolbus Publica KM410.B paperback line, which arrived in Frome at the weekend. It has also bought a CMC polywrapping line.