The fresh agreement means that Clays will continue to print all of Penguin Random House’s monochrome book work in the UK until 2026.

Clays chief executive Paul Hulley said: “This is fantastic news for Clays. We have enjoyed a long relationship with Penguin Random House, going back many decades as Penguin and Random House and then since their merger.

“We very much look forward to working with PRH across all of the opportunities that lie ahead, maximising the value we can add in their book supply chain.”

The value of the deal was not disclosed, but Hulley said the terms demonstrated “the strength and depth” of the relationship between the two companies.

“The term of this agreement, until 2026, confirms the strength and depth of that partnership and allows Clays to continue to plan confidently for its future; developing the programme of investment in place since our acquisition by Italian print group Elcograf in May 2018,” he stated.

Current bestsellers from Penguin Random House include: The Body by Bill Bryson, Behind the Mask by Tyson Fury, Lee Child’s Blue Moon and high-profile follow-up novel The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood.

Stephen Esson, group publishing operations director at PRH said: “We are very pleased to be continuing our partnership with Clays as our UK monochrome book printer. Clays has been a trusted partner of Penguin Random House UK over a number of years, and this arrangement offers us a strong platform on which to continue to create and deliver quality books to our readers.”

Bungay-based Clays became the sole supplier of monochrome work to the publishing giant back in 2015.

The firm has sales of £76.5m and employs around 700 people. It prints around 160 million books a year and also offers a distribution service.

Over the summer Clays completed a major £12m investment programme to enhance its ability to produce shorter runs, which included trialling a Fujifilm Jet Press 750S B2 inkjet press.

Hulley said the press was “going well” with a decision still to be confirmed.