The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Trade printer snapped up in £20m deal
Vistaprint owner Cimpress swoops for Fairprint in a move that will open up new markets for Dundee firm
NASDAQ-listed print-on-demand giant Cimpress has completed a £20 millionplus swoop for Dundee trade printing firm Fairprint.
Fairprint, based at Wester Gourdie Industrial Estate, has been on the Dutch-headquartered firm’s radar for some months but agreement over a deal was only reached in recent days.
The agreement positions Fairprint, which operates as Tradeprint, alongside internationally-recognised print ondemand brands such as Vistaprint and Foto Knudesen in the Cimpress stable.
Fairprint was founded by local businessman Paul Anderson in 1997 and it has grown into an award-winning player in the business-to-business print sector.
The firm contract prints everything from business cards to posters and leaflets and can cater for small bespoke orders as well as very large print runs.
The company – which was named as Digital Business of the Year at the 2014 Courier Business Awards – employs around 100 staff at its Dundee base, all of whom have been retained under the new ownership structure.
The firm is also actively recruiting for a number of new roles.
Mr Anderson said he was “delighted” with the deal and confirmed Fairprint will continue to operate as normal, albeit as an autonomous business within the wider Cimpress group.
He said the firm – which made a near £2 million pre-tax profit on record revenues of £9.05m in the year to July 31 2014 – would now be able to expand its horizons from its traditional UK-focused business to new markets overseas.
“I am delighted personally but, equally, I am pleased it secures the future of the business,” Mr Anderson said of the eight-figure deal.
“The landscape is changing, our industry is changing and it is becoming more international with a lot more global players impacting on the UK market. We are currently the UK PrintWeek company of the year.
“That success and the hard work everyone has put in brought us to the attention of this global player.”
Cimpress president and CEO Robert Keane said the Dundee operation was hugely impressive.
“We believe that speed is one of the next frontiers in the trade print business,” Mr Keane added.
“Tradeprint offers same- day production and next-day delivery throughout the UK.
“That is an incredibly valuable service to resellers who are usually operating under very tight deadlines.”
Mr Keane said the Dundee workforce was a “highly talented and focused team” and added that Cimpress “look forward to helping them build upon that very strong foundation”.