A reprographics specialist with bases in Liverpool and Manchester has been bought in a pre-pack by Hobs Group.
Hobs has acquired the majority of Callprint – which provides services including reprographics, bid innovations and luxury branding – and will roll it into its reprographics business.
Established in 1992 by Terry Rutter, Alan Cheek and Norman Krangel, Callprint made over £16m revenue a year with over 200 employees across 18 branch locations.
Hobs chief executive James Duckenfield told Print Week that Callprint’s Liverpool site would not be kept on and an undisclosed number of staff had been made redundant.
He said: “For some time, Callprint has been a loss-making business and it simply ran out of cash.
“Duff & Phelps were appointed as advisors and performed a marketing exercise inviting bids from a number of businesses. There was a competitive two-stage bidding process and we were able to make the best offer and transact quickly.
“We have stepped in to pay every Callprint member of staff’s salaries for August, whether they will be staying on with us or not. However, I am glad to say we have been able to preserve the majority of jobs.
“I believe the reaction so far has been very positive, having spoken to people throughout the business. As businesses, we have complementary skill sets and together we offer unparalleled coverage of the UK. It is great news for all clients and will cement our leadership in the UK repro market.”
Liverpool-based Hobs received £11m in investment from the Business Growth Fund between 2014 and 2017.
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.”
