The catalogue, which was launched last year, was printed by German-based printer Tiefdruck Schwann-Bagel and managed in the UK by JPS Print Management.

However, Robert MacMillan, HH chief executive, said the relative weakness of sterling is helping UK printers compete against tough overseas competition.

He said: "We will be printing the job with Prinovis in Liverpool, which we selected based on their technical capabilities and proven quality."

He added that it should not be assumed that offshore printing always makes the most commercial sense.

"The UK is holding its own very well at the moment, it’s proving advantageous to consolidate business here for numerous other clients," he said.

The Asda Direct catalogue has over 452 pages and a minimum run of 3m copies. KBA 4.32m and 2.75m presses will be used to print it.

Managing director of Prinovis Liverpool, Richard Gray, said the company was delighted to have won the contract.

"It is great that the catalogue will now be printed by Prinovis, and that we are continuing to win new business in these challenging times," he added.

Asda awarded a multi-million pound contract to HH in October last year. It included all of Asda’s print, excluding point-of-sale and labels.

Elsewhere, HH has bolstered its presence in the financial services sector as it announces a two-year print management contract with high street insurance brokers Swinton Group.

The deal includes the production of its operational and marketing print and the anticipated annual spend is expected to be in the region of £1.2m.

MacMillan said: "We are finding that companies such as Swinton are looking at increasing their process improvements not just in print but in upstream marketing activities such as proofing and approval."

HH will provide an on-site team consisting of one account manager and one art-worker within the Manchester-based head office building.