Liverpool print firm buys struggling business

Print shop Hobs Repro has acquired Call Print, incorporating Premier Reprographics, for an undisclosed sum.

Call Print is a well-established reprographics business operating across the country.

It provides a wide variety of services across multiple sectors which include reprographic services, bid innovations, luxury branding, as well as POS & retail solutions, which complements the current offerings across the Hobs Group.

Call Print has offices in London, as well as Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Hertford and Bristol.

Advisory firm Duff & Phelps was reported to have circulated an advert late last month for the sale of an unnamed digital and litho print provider, which was later confirmed as Call Print.

Documents relating to the proposed sale said it must be “executed at the earliest opportunity” due to the financial position of the company.

Notices of intention to appoint administrators for Call Print Group, Call Print Services and Call Print UK were posted to the High Court Index on August 23, with the solicitor named as London-based Weightmans, which was understood to be working with Duff & Phelps.

Phil Duffy, administrator of Duff & Phelps, said: “We are pleased to announce that after a period of extensive marketing, the majority of the business of Call Print Group has been sold to Hobs Repro.

“It is a positive outcome for the group, securing its future, and forging the market leader in the reprographics industry here in the UK.”

However, Hobs chief executive James Duckenfield confirmed that Call Print’s Liverpool site would be closed, with the loss of all jobs there.

And he said it was “unlikely” their Croydon branch would remain open.

Call Print managing director, Steve Cheek, said: “We are excited to join the Hobs family to form a powerhouse in the UK Reprographics market.

“Having built a healthy respect for each other in competition, we are now looking forward to a powerful collaboration.

“Our customers will welcome access to new services such as Indigo printing in central London, as well as an impressive range of 3D printing and visualisation services.”

Indigo printing is a higher quality version of digital printing.

The branch network will be gradually integrated under the Hobs Repro brand with the Call Print brand preserved for the managed services division. Together the businesses will operate 24 branches.

Liverpool-based Hobs Repro received a £7m equity investment from the Business Growth Fund in December 2014, to support its expansion strategy.

Hobs Repro managing director Craig Horwood said: “I am delighted to welcome the Call Print team into the Hobs Group.

“Together we will be much stronger and both sets of clients will benefit from new services that will be made available.”