Talk of a planned sale by the print and publishing group was greeted with surprise by some of the companys print suppliers and print management rivals.

The firms deputy managing director, Caroline Smith, said talk of a sale was "not wholly accurate", but added: "We have appointed consultants to review our position in the market and to look at the next phase of development and growth.

"Where that takes us we dont know. It may be an acquisition or a merger but we are by no means sure it will be a sale."

Many businesses called in consultants "to give a clearer view of the market place, where its going and their position in it," she said.

Smith was happy with the performance of Centurion Press, which has seen sales grow by around 30% each year for the last three years.

But the firms accounts reveal that it made pre-tax profits of under 500,000 on its 55.7m turnover.

A print management source said: "They love being big but whats the point if you dont make any money? I dont know if they had a long-term strategy to be the biggest, but if so, it hasnt worked."

Centurion Press is at 45 in the PrintWeek Top 500 and is part of a 150-staff group led by Lord Evans of Watford. His empire, based at Rickmansworth, also includes Centurion Publishing.

In 1999 the print management set-up secured a contract to manage Sainsburys promotional and marketing print needs for local and national campaigns. Other customers include BT, Logica and Sky. The firm is also strong on work for trade unions and charities.

Last year Bass Brewers recruited Centurion to handle print needs from stationery to direct mailings (PrintWeek, 7 September 2001).

Story by Jez Abbott