Printing firm sold in £5.5m deal

Bolton based Guest Investment has acquired a printing firm in a deal worth £5.5m.

Cowgills’ corporate finance team advised Guest Investments on the acquisition of Bolton-based print company Boss Direct and Browns CTP.

The Boss print employees have moved from the Bolton and Manchester branches to the Browns’ unit in Middleton in a move which has safeguarded all 85 jobs.

The combined printing business will trade as Browns while the well-established Boss Direct name will be kept in Bolton for the supply of office products, equipment and furniture.

The deal, which includes a 26,000 sq ft state of the art premises in Middleton, will see Browns immediately become one of the largest printers in England.

The acquisition also brings into the company three cutting-edge Heidelberg presses with cut-star delivery systems, allowing the machines to feed large paper reels at high speed, which will save around 25% on the cost of paper.

Tim Guest has been advised by Cowgills for over 20 years and was supported through the deal by: Sam Davies, corporate finance director; Ben Barlow, corporate finance manager and Ben Day, funding director with financial projections, due diligence and purchase agreement advice.

Tim, who is managing director of Guest Investments, said: “This is a critical event in our history and one which further strengthens our product range, reinforcing our market position.

“It allows us to consolidate our print operations in one, prime location which will help with staff recruitment and enable more effective communication.

“Through our acquisition of Browns we can offer a wider range of services from a few business cards to a 50,000 print run of 240-page, full-colour, perfectly bound catalogues.”

Tim added: “We forecast combined annual sales of around £10.2m however, we have processed over £2m worth of sales orders during the first two months of trading so it has been a great start for the new venture.”

Sam Davies, director at Cowgills added: “The acquisition of Browns and Boss by Guest Investments is an excellent deal as it enables two highly successful companies to come together and build a platform to accelerate the growth of both businesses.

“Tim and his team were a pleasure to work with and I am proud to have been able to support a long standing client of Cowgills.”