The deal was officially confirmed on 1 August, with Clayton taking on the top job with a focus on strengthening the high-street printer’s sales, while his wife Denise will manage the company finances.
The franchise's previous owner Colin March will remain at the company until October, after which he will become a consulting non-executive director.
Zimbabwe-born Clayton first met March when he joined managed print services and office print equipment provider Apogee in 2006. In a recent conversation, March suggested he was looking to sell the business which inspired Clayton to make an offer.
“Buying a business was not something that was on the radar for me at the time,” said Clayton. “I know this business and have dealt with it for some time. I knew that Colin had built a very solid foundation here that I could build on.
“My expertise is in sales, so my plan is to have the current staff continue as they have been with very little change while I focus on increasing sales. I will be canvasing with existing clients and my connections in the industry to make people more aware of what we do.
“We are a one-stop shop offering digital and wide-format print alongside finishing so I would like to increase the number of clients we have based on what we can do.”
Bill Clayton has a 30-year history in the print sector, having worked initially for Konica Minolta. He and Denise moved to the UK in 2006 when he joined Apogee – which will be acquired by HP Inc following the confirmation of a £380m deal last month.
Kall Kwik Farnham has a team of six who will remain with the business with no immediate change to structure or day-to-day operations.
The business runs Konica Minolta and Ricoh digital printers, HP wide-format kit and a range of finishing equipment.
Established in 1984, Kall Kwik Farnham is a licensee of the Kall Kwik brand and one of the oldest to hold the name – according to franchise chief executive Nigel Toplis, it “consistently places in the top 10 on our performance league table”. The franchise marks its 40th anniversary this year and currently has 43 outlets across the UK.
