Outgoing owners Simon and Friederike Slee sold the business in an 11 February deal. The pair will now move to Melbourne – for Simon, it will mark a return to Australia after 25 years in the UK.
Announcing the move on LinkedIn, he said: “London has been a fantastic home and a wonderful place to work but the time has come to pack up and move closer to my family in Australia and embark on new ventures.
“Over the last 13 years we are extremely proud of the accomplishments of our staff and the way we have grown our signage business, Fastsigns Hammersmith, a multi award-winning business and ultimately reaching the top franchise ranking in the UK. We are very pleased, and have full confidence the new owner of the business will continue to grow the business and continue a legacy of great service associated with the Fastsigns UK brand.
“With over 10,000 signs displayed and erected not only across London but as far afield as Ghana, Turkey & France you can’t say we didn’t leave our mark!”
John Davies, managing director of Fastsigns UK, told Printweek that the Slees had built a fantastic business, thanking them both for their passion and creativity.
He said: “We’re incredibly proud of what Simon and Friederike have achieved, not just locally, but also for the wider network. As well as delivering gold standard service for every one of their customers, and providing opportunities for their team to thrive, they’ve demonstrated what a top quality franchise looks like. We’re of course sad to see them leave, but delighted to know that Simon’s finally in for some warmer weather as he returns to his native Australia to pursue other adventures.
“Following on their legacy is new owner and Ukrainian-native, Yurii Petrushko; an entrepreneur in both Ukraine and Germany, with experience in energy production, distribution and property. Under Yurii’s stewardship, I’m pleased to say that the centre’s existing team will remain, with plans in place to recruit for a centre manager.
“With Yurii already in place, and a knowledgeable team by his side, I’m confident that Fastsigns Hammersmith customers will continue to see the same level of high quality and personable service that they’ve come to know and love.
“On behalf of the whole network, I’d like to thank both Simon and Friederike for their passion and creativity over the years, and I wish Yurii the very best success on this next step.”
