PRINT company Boss Direct Ltd of Bolton has been taken over in a deal which makes it part of one of the biggest printers in England.

The company, which is based in Folds Road, Bolton, and Browns CTP Ltd of Middleton have been taken over by Guest Investments Ltd in a £5.5m deal.

The combined printing business will trade as Browns while the Boss Direct name will be retained in Bolton for the supply of office products, equipment and furniture.

The deal includes a 26,000 sq ft state-of-the-art premises in Middleton. The acquisition also brings into the company three cutting-edge Heidelberg presses with cut-star delivery systems, allowing the machines to feed large paper reels at high speed, which will save around 25 per cent on the cost of paper.

The Boss print employees have relocated from the Bolton and Manchester branches to the Browns unit in Middleton in a move which has safeguarded all 85 jobs. The seven-strong sales team remains in Bolton at the Folds Road depot, which is up for sale.

Tim Guest, managing director of Guest Investments, said: “When the premises is sold we will relocate our sales team to a smaller office somewhere close to the Bolton town centre and continue to grow our office supplies business.”

Mr Guest was advised on the deal by Cowgills accountants finance team, Sam Davies, corporate finance director, Ben Barlow, corporate finance manager and Ben Day, funding director.

Mr Guest said: “This is a critical event in our history and one which further strengthens our product range. It allows us to consolidate our print operations in one, prime location which will help with staff recruitment and enable more effective communication.

"Through our acquisition of Browns we can offer a wider range of services from a few business cards to a 50,000 print run of 240-page, full-colour, perfectly bound catalogues.”

Early signs show that the transaction is already paying dividends. Mr Guest said: “We forecast combined annual sales of around £10.2m however, we have processed over £2m worth of sales orders during the first two months of trading so it has been a great start for the new venture.”

Mr Davies, director at Cowgills added: “The acquisition of Browns and Boss by Guest Investments is an excellent deal as it enables two highly successful companies to come together and build a platform to accelerate the growth of both businesses.”