Mail mess top and tails an eventful December

04 January 2023

Business

While the ongoing impact of the Royal Mail strikes is the bread in the December’s listicle sandwich, the filling in last month’s ranking of our most read stories also featured M&A deals, the decline in skilled print workers and the sad passing of one of the industry’s keenest advocates.

1 Labour frontbencher calls for Royal Mail inquiry; strike impact laid bare 7,037 clicks
Shadow secretary of state for Business and Industrial Strategy Jonathan Reynolds has written to secretary of state for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Grant Shapps to address his “extreme concerns” over the conduct of Royal Mail management.

2 Stephens & George buys rival Pensord 4,549 clicks
Stephens & George Print Group has acquired local rival Pensord Print Group and entrenched its position as the UK’s largest sheetfed magazine specialist.

3 SBS admin reports reveal large inter-company debts 3,180 clicks
Documents filed by the administrators of the three operating Leicestershire print businesses of SBS Print Group have revealed that the businesses owed large inter-company amounts as well as millions of pounds to other creditors.

4 Number of specialised print workers plummets 2,464 clicks
The number of skilled tradespeople working as printers plummeted by 73% between 2006 and 2021, with the impact of the pandemic yet to be fully revealed.

5 HH sales top £1.5bn 2,435 clicks
Sales at HH Global have soared past the £1.5bn mark on the back of its string of acquisitions, and profitability at the group is also vastly improved.

6 Premier expands with specialist packaging buy 1,806 clicks
Premier Paper Group has acquired a specialist packaging and retail display supplier that began life with a £5,000 loan from the Prince’s Trust and now has sales of nearly £20m.

7 SBS director taken on by Pureprint 1,711 clicks
The former group sales director at SBS Print Group, which fell into administration and ceased trading in October, has been hired by Pureprint Group as an account director.

8 Reach to close Teesside print site 1,596 clicks
Reach is set to close its Teesside print site, affecting around 35 jobs.

9 Chas Moloney RIP 1,371 clicks
Ricoh’s Chas Moloney has passed away after a short illness.

10 Workers rally on latest Royal Mail strike date 1,215 clicks
Postal workers were massing in central London this afternoon after talks to resolve the long-running strike action at Royal Mail broke down again.