Manchester Printers Group (MPG) bought Deanprint on 24 July 2022, taking the group to £7m in turnover.

Similar to previous deals, the printer and specialist bookbinder and finisher will keep its name and staff, with existing management team also staying on.

MPG group operations director David Whittles said the Stockport, Cheshire company would essentially carry on with business as usual, but with the advantage of having a wider support network within the group.

He said: “There’s basically no change. We didn’t really go in to change the business.

“Deanprint will operate the way it has always operated; we’re not going to change something that works.”

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, has added 40 staff to the group’s roster, roughly doubling its manpower to just above 80 staff across the North West.

According to Whittles, the deal was prompted because Deanprint had been facing a relocation from the 4,650sqm, then purpose-built, factory that has been its home since 1920.

“They knew they had to move buildings or relocate.

“I think they realised the best thing to do was to try sell the business to someone that was happy enough to work out the relocation for the business going forward.”

Whittles would like to see Deanprint relocated by January 2023, and is currently looking at potential nearby sites.

As part of MPG, Deanprint will gain access to the group’s resources, including IT infrastructure, its Print IQ MIS, which MPG is currently rolling out across the group, HR resources, and will benefit from enhanced purchasing power.

“All we’re doing, really, is adding more strings to their bow,” Whittles said.

“It’s just economies of scale, really, which we’re looking at in general, because obviously we’re trying to become, ourselves, as self-sufficient as possible. It does make [operation] a lot more cost-effective.”

Deanprint’s status as a specialist book binder and finisher, established in 1890, attracted Whittles to the company, as MPG seeks out a wide range of diverse businesses to complement each other.

He said: “[We’re looking for] diversity, more than anything. We are obviously looking for niche businesses.

“There’s not a lot of companies out there that do everything. What we’re trying to do is control that cost [of manufacture] - you have to be very savvy in the way that you do things.”

Deanprint joins Manchester Printers, Allenco, Jameson Print Finishers, Berkeley Business Forms, Chelma Graphics, Signature Printing and HCM Commercial Printers as part of MPG.

According to Whittles, however, MPG has by no means finished its run of acquisitions, which it started in 2018 with the purchase of print management firm Berkeley Business Forms, which trades under the name North Wales Printers.

“We’ve got plans,” Whittles said.

“Watch this space. If anybody is looking to sell, just give us a call – we’re more than happy to have a chat.”