According to provisional data, this year’s London show notched up 22,000 visitors – more than half of whom spent more than one day at the Excel, bringing total ‘visits’ to 37,460. The number of “senior decision-makers” at the event was described as “unprecedented” by Fespa, with just over 71% having input into purchasing decisions and half of those having “ultimate purchasing responsibility”. Unsurprisingly, the largest single visitor group came from the UK, circa 8,500 delegates. However, with around 13,500 coming from outside the UK, including 3,300 from outside Europe, this year’s event was described as the most “globally diverse” in the show’s history. Neil Felton, Fespa managing director, said he was especially pleased with the number of “long-haul attendees”. “The exhibitors I’ve spoken to have been absolutely delighted with the breadth of international visitors,” he said. Attendance figures from Australasia and North America alone were up 66% and 45% respectively on the last flagship Fespa in Munich in 2010. Visitors from sub-Saharan Africa also more than doubled on Munich, which Fespa said “reinforced the rationale” for launching Fespa Africa next year. Felton also highlighted the popularity of the show’s educational content, which, along with an even greater focus on applications, is something he said he planned to build on for Fespa Digital in Munich next May. “Both the main seminar theatres were 80% full on average at London, which was great. We can always improve, but I think we got the balance right and the feedback has been that our educational content is what makes us stand out,” he said. “We have an obligation to visitors to explore what print can really do for print service providers, buyers and creatives, and the best way to do that is through the show features and highlighting applications.”...

The £75m turnover group has gained a £10m investment – the maximum possible via the BGF – to fund growth at the business. The BGF will take a minority stake in the company. Chief executive Chris Ingram described the investment as “very good news for the company and the printing industry”. He told PrintWeek: “It’s easy for people to think the printing industry is in decline. The reality is, if you’re focused on very specific markets it’s actually quite the reverse. “This is very good new for the printing industry, when you’ve got financial institutions taking our sector seriously and realising there are opportunities going forward.” Richard Taylor, senior investment manager at the BGF, praised the York Mailing team for building a profitable and growing business by targeting a niche area. “It’s a great example of a proven and dynamic management team with a clear plan to grow their business.” York Mailing will use the money to support acquisitions and further capex investment. “We have specific plans for the future and we are looking at one or two acquisitions,” Ingram said, although he declined to go into details about potential targets. The group has established a market-leading position in print for the retail sector including flyers, leaflets and catalogues for multi-channel retailers. Clients include Lidl, Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Boden. In the year to the end of May 2013 the group achieved EBITDA of £7.6m on sales of £75m. A new web press is on the cards for its York site, which currently runs three Manroland Lithoman web presses. Two years ago, the company acquired Pindar Scarborough out of administration, adding high-quality catalogues to its offering. “Pindar has proved to be a very successful acquisition for us. It’s an excellent company with very good people and it dovetailed perfectly,” Ingram added. The new Goss Sunday 4000 48pp short-grain press that is about to be installed at the Pindar operation is not included in the £10m as it has already been funded separately. Installation of the press has been put back slightly because of the hiatus at Goss International in France. “It was delayed by a few weeks because of the situation at Goss, but it will be in full production by December,” Ingram explained. Ingram said the company had initially been talking to private equity houses about potential investment, when its corporate advisors recommended the firm should look into the BGF offering. “It’s a good way to get capital, very akin to the old 3i model and that really attracted us.” The BGF’s £2.5bn fund was set up in 2011 by five of the UK’s major banks, with the intention of providing growth capital to firms with turnover...

The 25-staff firm in Kettering, Northants, spent £112,000 on the kit and is producing synthetic labels for pharmaceutical and chemical companies, along with a wider range of water-based and UV labels. Production supervisor Tony Spooner said the kit would run alongside an existing Edale E250S and could run at 100m a minute, though his team were running it at 65m. “I was impressed with the build quality and operator friendliness,” he said. “It gives us the added capability of doing UV rather than just water-based work. We are also going to look into the production of four-colour process work and over-laminating. “Edale was the obvious choice for our next investment due to us already owning an Edale E250S. We knew we could trust Edale and liked the reliability of a British-made press. The Alpha has a compact footprint and is compatible with our existing E250S tooling. AM Labels managing director Tony Mariani said: “The Alpha has opened up more doors for our existing clients and paved the way for a wider range of customers and challenges. I will be looking to expand in the future”. His 17-year-old company is ISO: 9001 certified and started out in business selling desktop printers before expanding into label manufacturing after acquiring Applied Labels in December 2008....

The £75m turnover group has gained a £10m investment – the maximum possible via the BGF – to fund growth at the business. The BGF will take a minority stake in the company. Chief executive Chris Ingram described the investment as “very good news for the company and the printing industry”. He told PrintWeek: “It’s easy for people to think the printing industry is in decline. The reality is, if you’re focused on very specific markets it’s actually quite the reverse. “This is very good new for the printing industry, when you’ve got financial institutions taking our sector seriously and realising there are opportunities going forward.” Richard Taylor, senior investment manager at the BGF, praised the York Mailing team for building a profitable and growing business by targeting a niche area. “It’s a great example of a proven and dynamic management team with a clear plan to grow their business.” York Mailing will use the money to support acquisitions and further capex investment. “We have specific plans for the future and we are looking at one or two acquisitions,” Ingram said, although he declined to go into details about potential targets. The group has established a market-leading position in print for the retail sector including flyers, leaflets and catalogues for multi-channel retailers. Clients include Lidl, Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Boden. In the year to the end of May 2013 the group achieved EBITDA of £7.6m on sales of £75m. A new web press is on the cards for its York site, which currently runs three Manroland Lithoman web presses. Two years ago, the company acquired Pindar Scarborough out of administration, adding high-quality catalogues to its offering. “Pindar has proved to be a very successful acquisition for us. It’s an excellent company with very good people and it dovetailed perfectly,” Ingram added. The new Goss Sunday 4000 48pp short-grain press that is about to be installed at the Pindar operation is not included in the £10m as it has already been funded separately. Installation of the press has been put back slightly because of the hiatus at Goss International in France. “It was delayed by a few weeks because of the situation at Goss, but it will be in full production by December,” Ingram explained. Ingram said the company had initially been talking to private equity houses about potential investment, when its corporate advisors recommended the firm should look into the BGF offering. “It’s a good way to get capital, very akin to the old 3i model and that really attracted us.” The BGF’s £2.5bn fund was set up in 2011 by five of the UK’s major banks, with the intention of providing growth capital to firms with turnover...

The annual accounts published by parent firm Guardian Media Group show that overall revenue for GNM, home to the Guardian and Observer newspapers as well as GuardianOnline, increased from £194.4m last year to £196.3m. Within these figures, a 28.9% growth in digital and new product revenues to £55.9m “more than offset” declining revenue from its printed products, the company said. At group level, GMG’s pre-tax profits reflected the digital growth with an increase to £22.7m (2012: £19.8m loss) on revenue from continuing business of £206.8m (2012: 206.3m). EBITA also showed improvement growing from £45.9m last year, to £54.5m. The figures include exceptional restructuring costs of £7.7m (2012: £10.5m). In 2011, GMG announced a five-year “transformation programme”, focusing on a ‘digital-first’ strategy, that aimed to create at least £25m in savings by 2016. Commenting on the results, GMG chair Dame Amelia Fawcett said the loss-reduction programme remained on track. She added: “At group level, we were pleased to convert last year’s loss into a profit before tax, while EBITA also improved. This is due in no small part to the success of our transformation plan, as we continue to map our way towards the digital future.” “The programme combines investment in the digital future with a targeted reduction in the cost base. This has meant some very difficult decisions, particularly on staffing levels. It is vital however, to press ahead with these measures if we are to complete the transformation of the business and so secure the future for the company, for the talented people who work here and for the principles on which the organisation stands.” GMG chief executive Andrew Miller said that the 2012/2013 performance was a clear reflection of the digital-first strategy. He added: “A sharp increase in the contribution of our digital operations to revenue was a striking feature, enabling a modest increase in overall group revenues. Having committed to digital earlier than our peers, we are now reaping the benefits. “The reduction in losses would have been even greater, had we not chosen to invest a significant proportion of the efficiency savings in new developments. “Investing in the future is a key part of our strategy for this news organisation – every bit as important as the target of taking £25m out of the cost base by the end of 2015/16. Thus far, we are meeting or exceeding all our targets in this respect.”...