Stephens & George has acquired near neighbour Pensord Press to add a potential £11 million in sales to the business.
Both specialise in magazine printing and both run long perfectors, Stephens & George a full Heidelberg line up and Pensord with two presses having come down from three machines in 2018. Stephens & George occupies a hill top site in Merthyr Tydfil at the head of the Valleys, Pensord’s plant is in Blackwood, 15 miles distant. Nobody is yet talking about consolidation, though some is inevitable as the markets they serve have been badly hit since the arrival of Covid.
On the other hand there are opportunities. Pensord closed its in-house wrapping and mailing operation three years ago to outsource this service. Stephens & George has retained this facility and can absorb that work. Equally Pensord Digital operates digital presses, something that Stephens & George has never done.
The Blackwood printer has a sizeable book printing operation, founded on its acquisition of Cambrian Printers, which is an area that Stephens & George has not developed.
Both, however, have been hit by Covid and market shrinkage. Stephens & George generated sales of £30.8 million in the financial year ending in March 2019, this dipped the following year with minimal impact from lockdowns to £29.6 million, but plunged to £16.1 million in following 12 months. Sales climbed back to £22.8 million in 2022, and the company returned to profit on this turnover. The company will be keen to make the most efficient use of its production capacity.
Pensord was also hit in sales terms though not to the same extent. Revenue in the 2021 calendar year reached £11.2 million, a fraction above the £11.0 million reported in 2018 and above £9.5 million and £9.4 million in the following years.
Its management led by Darren Coxon and Karl Gater who bought the business in 2008, has focused on diversification and moving away from reliance low margin work, which was helped by the shift to a two-press operation.
The move will put both in a better position to ride out recession and increases in energy costs. Stephens & George chairman Andrew Jones says: “We will be acquiring products we will be familiar with, alongside some complementary skills, knowledge, and expertise. This will be an exciting time for the group and will bring some much needed continuity and stability for every single client across both print groups, in a very fast changing and uncertain world.”
Gater and Coxon have stepped down as directors though will stay with the business, for a transition period at least. Coxon says: “The proximity of the two groups, operating in the same space, means that this amalgamation makes complete sense. And as a priority for me it ensures that the respected brands of Pensord and Cambrian Printers will continue, and it will provide certainty and continuity to our clients no matter what is around the next corner.”
