̽�� UK

̽�� plans to downsize its Peterborough printing facility

Helen Wright — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:04:38 +0000

LONDON • APRIL 2026: ̽�� UK announces today that it has commenced a 45-day consultation with 55 permanent employees from a total of 136 at its Peterborough web offset printing facility.

The restructuring proposal would result in redundancies from permanent positions across all the company’s departments. However, there will be vacancies at ̽�� UK’s other sites where some of the Peterborough employees could transfer if the proposed redundancies are confirmed.

The UK web offset printing industry continues to experience a reduction in magazine and catalogue volumes. Whilst ̽�� has continued to win new contracts, the overall reduction in demand cannot be mitigated by this work. This has necessitated the review of Peterborough’s manufacturing capacity. The proposed plan involves the decommissioning of a 32pp short-grain printing press and a reduction in manning across the bindery and pre-press departments.

Debbie Read, CEO of ̽�� UK, commented: “It is unfortunate that we have had to propose this restructuring plan. However, ̽�� UK’s market-leading position and its efficient print manufacturing platform across its five sites have been achieved by continually aligning our capacity to market demand and ensuring our operating costs are reduced accordingly. Alongside these actions, we are actively assessing adjacent markets and complementary product segments that can be leveraged – this is being supported by detailed customer discussions with the intention to diversify volumes and strengthen long-term utilisation of our manufacturing footprint.”��

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̽�� Group: Preliminary 2025 financial results, update on ownership, and changes to senior management team

Helen Wright — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000

LONDON • 26 FEBRUARY 2026: ̽��, Europe’s largest commercial printing business, provides its preliminary unaudited financial results for the year ended 31 December 2025, and an update on various corporate matters.

FY25 preliminary financial results

̽�� delivered a strong improvement in profitability and cash generation in 2025, reflecting disciplined operational execution, effective cost management, and a continued focus on balance sheet strength. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 26.8% to €35.5 million (2024: €28.0 million).

Gross revenue declined by 10.4% to €484.7 million (2024: €540.7 million) with net revenue showing a similar decline of 10.1% to €318.0 million (2024: €353.6 million). The reduction in volumes primarily reflects the closure of Eurohueco in Barcelona, the Group’s only gravure printing site, in March 2025, and with a slowing in the structural declines in the retail advertising and publishing markets. Excluding the impact of Eurohueco, the gross and net revenue decline was 5.2%.

External net debt leverage at 31 December 2025 remained stable and healthy at 1.8x (2024: 1.8x). Alongside this, shareholder loan notes were restructured during the year, substantially reducing the amounts payable on these loan notes to €34.5 million (31 December 2024: €98.7 million). This resulted in overall net debt reducing by 34.6% to €97.9m, resulting in a significant strengthening of the Group’s balance sheet in the period. Liquidity was also strong, with year-end availability of €49.4 million.

An elevated level of exceptional costs of €29.6 million was incurred in the year, the majority of which related to the closure of Eurohueco which cost €16.3 million. However, taking account of the sale proceeds of the freehold property at Eurohueco, the net cost of the closure was €5.7 million. The other exceptional costs in the year included the temporary closure of ̽�� UK’s facility in York to facilitate upgrades to its electrical and gas supplies, and the rightsizing of the Group’s facilities in Austria which involved the closure of the St. Pölten site.

Following the high level of investment that has been made across the Group in recent years, ̽�� has a modernised and resilient asset base. This is reflected in the reduced level of capital expenditure in 2025 of €13.1 million (2024: €33.4 million). Approximately half of the 2025 expenditure related to the installation of a replacement web offset press following a fire at ̽�� UK’s Bicester site, where the costs were covered by insurance proceeds, such that the underlying level of capital expenditure was €6.5 million. This lower underlying rate of investment is expected to be sustainable for the foreseeable future.

The Group employed 2,775 people at the end of the year (2024: 3,094).

Mark Scanlon, Executive Chairman of ̽��, commented: “Overall, we delivered a satisfactory result in 2025 against a challenging market backdrop. Our Central Europe and UK divisions performed particularly well and delivered increased EBITDA and strong profit margins, but the overall financial highlight is the significant reduction in our net debt and the strengthening of our balance sheet.

“The Group had a busy year including: managing the closure of two sites (one in each of Spain and Austria) as part of a rationalisation of less efficient capacity; integrating our Central Europe businesses into a single division (̽�� CE); and successfully implementing a comprehensive disaster recovery plan to minimise the impact on our UK customers and the business, when a fire severely damaged one of our presses at Bicester. I am pleased to report that the loss was fully covered by insurance, that the relevant insurance proceeds have��been received, and that a replacement press was installed and fully operational by the end of the year. Also, in the UK, we secured a new three-year £20 million invoice discounting facility from Close Invoice Finance which has further strengthened our liquidity position.

“Since the year end, we have sold Rhapsody Group, which was our smallest, and only non-printing division – more details are below. Looking ahead to 2026, we expect lower revenue due to the sale of Rhapsody, but for the remaining print divisions we anticipate improved operating margins, a further significant reduction in external debt, lower leverage, and increased liquidity. Taken together, we believe ̽�� is well positioned for continued progress in 2026 and beyond.”

Sale of Rhapsody

̽�� completed the sale of Rhapsody Group on 24 February 2026 to its management team led by Rhapsody’s CEO, Andy Berg. Rhapsody, whose principal operations are in London and Warsaw, provides digital creative and production services. The business generated a modest level of revenue in 2025 compared to the Group as a whole. The transaction simplifies the Group’s portfolio and supports an increased focus on its core printing operations and creates a strong partnership allowing ̽�� to continue to offer a wide range of digital creative production services. Rhapsody’s Spanish operation based in Madrid did not form part of this transaction and will remain owned by ̽�� Iberia.

Scanlon commented: “Rhapsody was our only non-printing business and our smallest division. As an independent company, Andy and his team will be well positioned to grow this service-orientated business. We look forward to continuing our close working relationship, as we share many customers across Europe.”

Ownership update

On 9 June 2025, ̽�� announced that its majority shareholder, Rutland Partners, was undertaking a strategic review with a view to exploring a potential exit of its investment in the Group. AlixPartners was appointed to manage this review.

Following this review, and considering the Group’s significantly improved performance in 2025, Rutland has informed the Company of its intention to remain an investor in ̽�� and that it will no longer be seeking to realise its investment in ̽�� at this time. Consequently, the decision has been taken to discontinue the sale process for ̽�� as a whole.

However, as part of the review process already undertaken, several parties have expressed an interest in acquiring certain non-core assets of the Group including certain freehold property. ̽�� intends to continue to explore and assess these approaches where strategically appropriate. The Group’s core operations will not be affected, and these developments will not impact ̽��’s day-to-day operations or its commitment to its customers and suppliers.

Scanlon commented: “We have enjoyed an excellent relationship with Rutland since they invested in 2016, and I am delighted they will continue to support our strategy.”

Changes to the senior management team

The following changes reflect a planned and orderly succession process within the Group’s senior leadership team:

Ian Southerland, currently Group Finance Director, will assume the role of Group CFO on 1 April. Southerland takes over the position from Grant Murray, who joined ̽�� in August 2024 on an interim basis with the task of re-organising the Group’s finance function, including the appointment of a permanent Group CFO. Murray will step down on 31 March but will remain on the board of the Group as an independent non-executive director.

Roy Kingston, Chief Operating Officer, will be leaving on 18 May. Kingston joined ̽�� in 2009 and has been a key member of the senior management team during the period in which ̽�� grew to become the largest commercial printer in Europe.

Following these management changes, the executive board of ̽�� Group Limited will comprise Mark Scanlon, Executive Chairman; Ian Southerland, Group CFO; Grzegorz Czech, CEO ̽�� CE; and Debbie Read, CEO ̽�� UK and CEO ̽�� Iberia.

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̽�� Company Announcement

Helen Wright — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 11:58:00 +0000

LONDON • 7 JANUARY 2026: ̽��, Europe’s largest commercial printing group, announces
the retirement this month of Paul Utting, Group Chief Executive Officer. He will be available to
advise the company to ensure an efficient transfer of duties and will remain a shareholder.

Utting has been involved in the printing industry since 1984 when he joined William Clowes. In 2003
he was appointed Group Managing Director of Wyndeham Press Group and became Chief Executive
in 2005. He was one of the founding investors in ̽�� when it acquired Wyndeham in 2008.
Following Utting’s retirement, Mark Scanlon, the group’s Executive Chairman, will assume his
responsibilities: Debbie Read, Chief Executive of ̽�� UK and ̽�� Iberia, Grzegorz Czech,
Chief Executive of ̽�� CE, and Andy Berg, Chief Executive of Rhapsody Group, will report to
Scanlon.

Scanlon commented: “I’ve had the privilege of working with Paul for 17 years during which time
he’s been pivotal in ̽��’s growth story – from starting as the fifth largest web offset printer in
the UK to becoming Europe’s largest printing group following our acquisitions in Austria, Czech
Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, and Spain. Our partnership has experienced many battles with
major competitors and I’m relieved to say we won them all! I would like to thank Paul for his immense
contribution to the development of the business. I wish him all the best.”

Utting commented: “After 17 years as CEO of this great company and more than 40 years in the
industry I feel now is the right time for me to retire. ̽�� has an outstanding senior team with
very capable and strong divisional CEOs and Mark as Chairman, so I leave the business in great
hands. ̽�� has grown from a second tier UK operator to be the number one print group in
Europe, and I am proud of the achievements of the entire team during this period. It has been my
pleasure to work with so many fantastic colleagues and partners around the industry and I wish
everyone at ̽�� and its stakeholders every success for the future.”

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̽�� Company Announcement

Helen Wright — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 11:00:00 +0000

LONDON • 9 JUNE 2025: ̽�� Group’s private equity shareholder, Rutland Partners, has indicated that they are looking to realise their investment in the company, which they have held since 2016.

Consequently, ̽�� has engaged AlixPartners to manage the sale process which is expected to launch later this year and is not expected to complete until 2026.

̽��’s executive team, who hold a significant stake in the company, will continue to lead the group during and after the sale is concluded.

Mark Scanlon, chairman of ̽�� Group, commented: “We have had an excellent relationship with Rutland over the last 10 years. Their intention to sell is not unexpected and will, undoubtedly, create an opportunity for a new investor to support the ongoing growth of ̽�� which will continue to consolidate the European commercial print sector.”

Olly Jones, partner at Rutland, commented: “We are proud to have worked closely with ̽��’s management team, and supported the successful growth and expansion of the group, which is now the largest commercial printing business in Europe.”

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̽�� announces changes to group structure

Helen Wright — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 11:44:46 +0000

LONDON • SEPTEMBER 2024: ̽�� Iberia and ̽�� UK are to be managed together as a single west European division of the group. This follows the recent announcement confirming the merging of ̽��’s Leykam and CE businesses covering Central and Eastern Europe. This further change will see the group’s core printing activities split into these two divisions each being run by a single chief executive.

̽�� has previously announced that its CE and Leykam businesses will be run by Grzegorz Czech, previously CEO of ̽�� CE. The new west European division will be run by Debbie Read who is currently CEO of ̽�� UK. Debbie is an experienced print executive and has been with ̽�� since 2009 in a number of senior roles.

The new structure will become effective in Q4/2024 and will follow the departure of ̽�� Iberia’s chief executive, José María Camacho. By amalgamating the group into these two distinct divisions there will be more collaboration in a number of areas of the business and senior executives will be able to apply their skills across a wider territory as well as developing working relationships with intra-divisional peers.

Paul Utting, ̽�� Group chief executive, said: “With our markets constantly changing it is more important that the group is able to collaborate as widely as possible and I believe that this new structure will provide the ideal platform for doing so. After the recent news announcing the merger of our CE and Leykam divisions this further change bringing together our UK and Spanish businesses is a logical next step and creates two strong divisions for our manufacturing platform. Debbie has done an exceptional job as CEO of ̽�� UK and I am sure she will apply her skills to the wider role for the benefit of all stakeholders”.

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̽�� announces a reorganisation of its finance function

Helen Wright — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 08:42:47 +0000

LONDON • SEPTEMBER 2024: ̽�� Group is pleased to announce that Grant Murray has recently joined the group as Group Chief Financial Officer. Grant is replacing Neil Johnson, who has left the business after a handover period. Grant’s initial focus will include leading key finance-related projects over the next 12 months. He is a Chartered Accountant, holds an MBA, and was previously CFO at Channel 5 Broadcasting, Guardian Media Group, Johnston Press, Clarion Events and Talon Outdoor. He has extensive knowledge of private equity and publicly-owned businesses operating in the media sector.

In addition, Ian Southerland, ̽��’s Group Finance Director, is being appointed a director of the group’s ultimate parent company, ̽�� Holdings Limited, and also to the board of its subsidiary, ̽�� Group Limited.

Mark Scanlon, chairman of ̽�� Holdings, said: “We welcome Grant to the group and congratulate Ian on his well-deserved promotion to the two boards. We would like to thank Neil for his contribution to the group since he joined us last year and wish him well in his future endeavours.”

Grant Murray said: “I am delighted to be joining the ̽�� team and I am looking forward to supporting the further development of the group’s businesses across Europe.”

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̽�� to combine ̽�� CE & ̽�� Leykam under a single management team

Helen Wright — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 07:17:13 +0000

LONDON • AUGUST 2024: ̽�� Group today announces that it will combine ̽�� CE and ̽�� Leykam under a single multinational management team for the enlarged territory.

Combining the territories will create meaningful and unique benefits for customers, providing a platform with a wide range of services “under one roof”, with complementary operating models and a best-in-class range of capabilities, quality and service levels.

These combined territories will be led by Grzegorz Czech, currently CEO of ̽�� CE, he will assume the wider role of CEO ̽�� CE and ̽�� Leykam.

̽�� Group can also confirm that José Maria Camacho who has been CEO of ̽�� Iberia since 2016 and who recently moved into a wider Group role is to leave the business at the end of the year due to personal and family reasons.

Paul Utting, CEO of ̽�� Group said “We look forward to working closely with Grzegorz in reshaping our business in Central Europe where we believe there is considerable scope for future enhancements. We also wish José Maria well in his future endeavours and look forward to continuing our close relationship with the management team in Spain after his departure.”

Grzegorz Czech said “As one company, we will stay focused on driving growth and value creation for our customers across Europe. The process of successfully integrating the two businesses will be critical to our future growth in the market and I look forward to contributing to our goal of being “Better Together” for the benefit of our customers.”

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̽�� announces organisational changes

Helen Wright — Thu, 23 May 2024 11:00:46 +0000

LONDON • MAY 2024: ̽�� today announces a reorganisation of the Group which will merge responsibility for all of its print operations in the European Union under a single chief executive. This will bring ̽�� Iberia, ̽�� CE and ̽�� Leykam under common leadership and is a response to the changing market for commercial print across Europe. ̽�� UK is unaffected by this change. ̽�� is the largest web offset company in Europe and as such has a unique opportunity to capitalize on its scale and geographic reach. These changes, together with further growth of its in-store marketing business in Poland, new value added services and digital content production in Rhapsody are central to the Group’s future strategy.

José Maria Camacho has been appointed to the new role of Chief Executive ̽�� European Union with effect from 1st June 2024. He is currently chief executive of ̽�� Iberia and has been with the Group for 8 years and has spent most of his career in the print and paper industry.

As part of these changes the Group is also announcing that Grzegorz Czech, chief executive of ̽�� CE, will be leaving his full-time role in the business. Grzegorz has been with ̽�� since its acquisition of the Polish operations of LSC Communications in 2018 and has been with the business under ̽��, LSC and prior to that RR Donnelley ownership for 30 years. Grzegorz will remain with the company in a full-time capacity until a complete handover has taken place and will continue to support the business in a consultancy capacity and on an advisory basis thereafter.

Stefan Gutheil, chief executive of ̽�� Leykam, who joined the business on a three-year fixed-term contract in 2022 will also remain with the Group until a full handover has taken place.

The market for heatset web offset printing has changed significantly since the Covid pandemic and the commodities crisis of the past two years with the result being much lower volumes and an oversupplied market. As the largest web offset printing company in Europe ̽�� has the opportunity to present a single offering to the market rather than a divisional one based on the acquisitions made by the group over the past 10 years. This will help to create a leaner organisation and allow the business to work closely with customers to allocate volumes in the most efficient manner across the entire ̽�� platform.

Chief Executive of ̽�� Group Paul Utting said ‘̽�� has achieved its market leading position by constantly adapting to customer requirements and with a continually evolving landscape this change will allow us to develop our offering to remain competitive in a challenging environment. We believe that all of our stakeholders, both internal and external, will benefit from this new structure. In particular, I believe that our customers will see improvements by having access to a wider range of the Group’s services and will provide confidence that their printed materials are being produced efficiently. We wish José Maria well in his new role and would like to thank Grzegorz for his many years of service during which he has shaped our Polish platform into one of the leading print businesses in Europe. We would also like to thank Stefan for his contribution to the Group in the time he has been with us.’

José Maria Camacho said ‘̽�� Group is evolving to meet the needs of our European customers in an ever-changing market. As we transition, we will be committed to delivering first-in-class services and products to our customers which are key to maintaining our future market leadership. I look forward to working closely with the management teams and our Board to get the best out of the opportunities that this change in our organisation will bring’.

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̽�� renews print contract with The Camping and Caravanning Club

Helen Wright — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 08:24:54 +0000

LONDON • APRIL 2024: ̽�� UK has announced the renewal of the print contract for The Camping and Caravanning Club for a further two years, which sees the relationship between the companies extending to over 30 years.

The contract covers the Club’s monthly magazine, which has been produced for members since 1906, and has a circulation of 327,253 (ABC January to December 2023). Titled Camping & Caravanning, the magazine is produced at ̽�� Roche in Cornwall utilising all aspects of the facility including 72pp Lithoman IV and 16pp Komori 38 presses and finishing through the site’s perfect binding operations.

Rob Ganley, Editor-in-Chief of Camping & Caravanning magazine, said: “̽�� Roche has printed our Club magazine reliably for many years and we are delighted to have renewed this contract. We work closely with the team at ̽�� to ensure a high quality product for our members at the best value, and following a successful redesign for our March 2024 issue we look forward to their continued involvement as we move forward with this new agreement.”

Jon Hearnden, Group Sales & Business Strategy Director of ̽�� UK, added: “The renewal of this contract with such a long-standing client highlights the continued support and satisfaction of the services ̽�� continues to provide its customers. We are very happy that the relationship has been extended for a further two years and this renewal is testament to the hard work of all involved at our ̽�� Roche facility.”

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Jon Hearnden expands his role at ̽�� UK and Rhapsody

Helen Wright — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 11:25:34 +0000

LONDON • MARCH 2024: Following the appointment of Debbie Read to the role of CEO of ̽�� UK, the group has moved to further strengthen its senior leadership team by appointing Jon Hearnden into an expanded role.

In his new role, Jon will support Debbie in the day-to-day running of ̽�� UK. He retains responsibility for all sales and commercial activities and his additional duties will be to lead the strategic development of the ̽�� UK print manufacturing platform by identifying areas to improve business operations and create growth opportunities.

Debbie Read said: “Jon has demonstrated a clear understanding and recognised the importance for us to grow ̽�� UK by utilising cross-selling opportunities and diversifying our offering. His new role recognises this and the significant contribution he has made to the business over many years. He will assume the role of ̽�� UK Sales & Business Strategy Director with immediate effect.”

In addition to his role at ̽�� UK, Jon has joined the board of directors at Rhapsody where he will work alongside its CEO, Andy Berg, and his team to identify, develop, and implement strategies to create growth opportunities for that business.

Andy Berg said: “I am delighted to welcome Jon to the Rhapsody board. Jon brings a wealth of industry experience and a proven track record in strategic development, making him a tremendous addition to our team. His commitment to driving growth aligns perfectly with our ambitious plans for Rhapsody and I look forward to collaborating closer with him to achieve these goals and propel Rhapsody into its next phase of its success.”

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̽������ UK

̽������ plans to downsize its Peterborough printing facility

̽������ Group: Preliminary 2025 financial results, update on ownership, and changes to senior management team

̽������ Company Announcement

̽������ Company Announcement

̽������ announces changes to group structure

̽������ announces a reorganisation of its finance function

̽������ to combine ̽������ CE & ̽������ Leykam under a single management team

̽������ announces organisational changes

̽������ renews print contract with The Camping and Caravanning Club

Jon Hearnden expands his role at ̽������ UK and Rhapsody

̽�� UK

̽�� plans to downsize its Peterborough printing facility

̽�� Group: Preliminary 2025 financial results, update on ownership, and changes to senior management team

̽�� Company Announcement

̽�� Company Announcement

̽�� announces changes to group structure

̽�� announces a reorganisation of its finance function

̽�� to combine ̽�� CE & ̽�� Leykam under a single management team

̽�� announces organisational changes

̽�� renews print contract with The Camping and Caravanning Club

Jon Hearnden expands his role at ̽�� UK and Rhapsody