The Whyteleafe, Surrey-based print management and design agency was launched in June 2009 by the former directors of BDL Print Group, which was closed down the same month after parent firm Paterson Printing went into administration.
Shane Inger, a former director at BDL then went on to set up Cubiquity with former BDL colleagues Kevin Rowland and Dan Mitchell as well as bringing on board new recruit Nick Burden, to lead the company’s integral creative design agency.
“After Paterson relieved us of our positions and BDL was closed down, we obviously needed to work and print management was what we knew, so it made sense to start a new business.
“We saw a gap in the market for something fresh though, so we decided to develop a new model of a print management company with a design agency leading it. A lot of companies pay way over the odds for the design work so we thought what better than to offer one solution rather than many different suppliers,” explained Inger.
The company provides print and design services for blue chip companies including Easy Jet and Mark & Spencer, for which Cubiquity designed and delivered the pan-European contract for its window displays. Other major clients come from within the pharmaceutical, travel, public sector, retail and construction industries, Inger added.
“We often get told we have a refreshing approach and I put that down to our creative design service heading the business. Four years ago no-one else was delivering that – although they’re catching on now. Putting these two sides of the business together has worked really well because we are able to deliver the same service as some of the much bigger companies but at a fraction of the price and that combination has given us some fantastic wins,” Inger said
The business currently outsources digital work but plans to develop a service next year, for which Inger said new staff would be recruited, to deliver cross-media products for customers wanting to run digital and as well as print campaigns.
The digital service will be the start of what Inger terms an aggressive expansion campaign over five years, with the aim of achieving £30m turnover in 2018, which he said would be achieved through a mixture of "organic and acquisitional growth", targeting "like-minded organisations that fit into our business model."
Since 2009 the Cubiquity has grown from four to 25 staff turning over £6.4m this year with a target of more than £8m in 2014. “That’s with work we’ve already secured – that should go up as we get more jobs on board,” Inger said.
On the company's recognition in The Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100, Inger said: "It's a fantastic opportunity for us. It is getting our name out there and recognising our solid credentials.
"We also get to go to Richard Branson's house next May for an officail presentation. Sadly it's the one in Oxfordshire, not Necker Island!"
