Trader Media sells Warrington print business
WARRINGTON-based printer Apple Web Offset has been sold by Trader Media Group.
The company, which prints newspapers, magazines and supplements for clients including Trader Media Group, Guardian Newspapers, RTE Publications and the Manchester Evening News, has been bought for an undisclosed sum by Walstead Investments, which owns Essex-based competitor Wyndeham Group.
The deal should provides security for the 84 staff who work at Apple Web Offset, as it includes the print contract work for Trader Media Group’s flagship Auto Trader titles as well as Truck Trader, Farmers’ Trader and Ireland Autotrader for the next 42 months.
The site, which contains more than 100,000 sq ft of printing space and produces more than 1.4m publications a week, will be renamed Wyndeham Apple.
The deal is the third acquisition that Wyndeham Group has made within the past two years. It means the enlarged group now employs over 900 staff across eight sites and produces over 500 print publications.
Trader Media is jointly owned by Guardian Media Group and private equity firm Apax Partners. Reports last month stated that the pair were mulling a potential sale of the entire Trader Media Group, which is headquartered in Reading.
