Export business to the US hit record levels for Pureprint in 2023, the fruit of time on the ground with New York publishers and others. Pureprint has traditionally had a sales base in the US, but this all but disappeared in 2022 with sales of just £104,000. This was transformed in 2023 into sales of £5.3 million, a record for the Uckfield business.
This was supported by a similar but less spectacular transformation in Europe with turnover reaching £1.7 million, up from £420,000 a year earlier.
The strong export performance meant that the overall turnover for Pureprint reached £56.9 million (£54.8 million) as UK sales dipped to £49.4 million (£54.3 million).
None of the other businesses in the East Sussex print group has export revenue in the £71.9 million turnover achieved, up from £68.6 million. “The strong performance of 2023 has continued into 2024 despite the uncertain trading conditions,” the company says, adding that “H1 delivered strong performance from all areas of the group with good forward pipelines into H2 and 2025”.
Next year’s efforts will be assisted by the growth in B1 litho capacity through investment in a Speedmaster XL106-8-P&L eight-colour convertible press with inline coater. This replaces a four-colour Speedmaster with the new machine “offering superior quality, speed and a wider range of products to our customers from increased capacity and capability”.
The press will print both sections for magazines and catalogues and can use the additional colours in straight mode for packaging and work that needs specials or extra gamut. The company had been talking with Heidelberg about a new machine which might be needed later.
Speed was of the essence in investing in the machine, resulting in pressure to complete the deal. The finance deal from Close Brothers Asset Finance was complete within a week, unusually fast, but helped by the long relationship between printer and finance provider. Its sales director Nick Aust confirms: “Timing was key on this deal. Pureprint needed the press urgently and we managed to turn it around – start to finish – within a week. As a long standing customer, we were able to do this because we had an established relationship that had been built over the course of many years.
“Clearly, with purchases of this size, the more time we’re given the better, but we understand that this isn’t how businesses work. It may take some time for them to make the business case ‘internally’, but once they’ve decided on their course of action, they then want to progress, and quickly.”
The plant has also gained more productive equipment to meet growing demand for presentation boxes, casing in equipment for books. The group’s financial results also pick out growing demand for direct mail services, a big lift in demand for out of home large format print on the back of investment at Imprint of a 3.5 metre wide Durst P5 and strong performance at its Pixl digital photography, video and asset management business.
The long term strategy continues to be further diversification with the business prepared to invest in “other market opportunities to further diversification”. This has also encouraged Pureprint to strengthen its management teams. Ben O’Leary becomes account director having spent 18 years at Belmont Press, latterly as business development manager. Steven Pyke, sales and marketing director at Page Brothers, joins as sales director.
But these are headed by the appointment as a non executive director of Patrick Headley, who has not been active in print since leading the sale of Go Inspire to Xerox two years ago. He will ‘help drive the future vision of the business, working closely with shareholders and senior management’ the company says. As well as leading the sale of the previous business, Headley had led the transformation of the business and then a management buyout.
Pureprint and group CEO Mark Handford says: “I’m absolutely delighted Patrick has chosen to join us at this exciting time. As you would expect, he had many options available to him, but he saw the alignment between what he achieved previously and our vision for Pureprint.” And adds about the investment in the new press: “We are in the fortunate position where we’ve seen increased demand for our services, and the new press is going to make a real difference through higher production volumes. I’m really looking forward to seeing it start delivering on its capability.”
