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Printing businesses Berforts Information Press Group and Butler Tanner & Dennis (BT&D) are to merge their two businesses, creating the UK's largest independent book printing company.
Gerard White, the majority shareholder in Berforts, and Felix Dennis, the 100% shareholder of BT&D, agreed a deal that would see them exchange shares, with each holding a 50% stake in the new company.
The merger, which will come into place on 1st July 2013, will see the companies continue to trade under their existing names, while the group will be known as Berforts BT&D.
The combined turnover of the group will be in excess of £25m, with the group expecting profits and an increase in their printing capabilities.
White will become chief executive of Berforts BT&D, with a management team drawn from the existing businesses and a new board appointed. He said: "This is a great opportunity for us to extend into new areas of the business and adopt the formula of financial discipline coupled with forward thinking which has allowed us to grow and be successful on our existing sites over the last few years. Both companies have proud traditions in producing beautiful books and journals."
Dennis, the founder of Dennis Publishing and a published poet, said: "It is no secret we have invested considerable time and money in press technology and digital press capabilities at Butler Tanner & Dennis over the past 5 years… This merger has given us the confidence of a long-term secure footing as Berforts BT&D."
BT&D has been based in Frome in Somerset for 168 years, and has 105 full-time staff. It prints a wide range of books, magazines, and other material, including all Ordnance Survey Maps and the AA's Roadmaps of Great Britain. Berforts has 125 staff in Hastings, Stevenage and Eynsham, and prints books and journals as well as dealing with self-publishing and e-books.