Lincoln print company grows with new acquisition

Lincoln-based Visual Print and Design has acquired Derby based digital print shop Go Digital as part of plans to create new jobs and increase its current turnover by 50% within a year.

The purchase came as Go Digital’s owner Peter Mosley entered into retirement after more than 20 years of trading.

The company was considering closure if a buyer was not found.

Graham Hunstone, Managing Director of Visual Print and Design, has set out a growth plan to create new jobs, hire an apprentice and introduce new digital services to the company’s portfolio.

Over the next three years, he plans to replicate the success of Visual Print and Design in Derby.

Go Digital currently has three staff, whose jobs will be safeguarded, and Graham is looking to create an additional two jobs over the next year.

Graham said: “I am really excited to lead Go Digital and I have some really ambitious plans to develop the business into the kind of print and digital business that serves the growing wants and needs of companies in Derby and surrounding areas.

“We have some fantastic and very creative website developers and social media managers who can help small businesses to grow. We have an excellent team here at the shop who can provide fast, high quality print from roll up banners, booklets, leaflets and business stationery.

“We want to work within Derby to help create jobs and contribute to economic growth of the city. As one of the only surviving print shops left in the city we want to make sure that the legacy of good local print and high customer service continues.

“With the new offerings of social media and website design we can roll these out to our new and existing customer base in both Visual Print & Design and Go Digital.”

Peter Mosley said: “It has been an incredibly journey over the last 24 years but at 67 years of age I felt it was the right time to pass this on. We had a few offers on the table but Graham’s knowledge, experience and passion for the industry meant that not only would the business continue but also grow in the direction it deserves.”

Visual Print and Design has also recently boosted its tender-writing skills and improved its workplace organisation in a bid to improve performance and win more local customers with help from Lincolnshire County Council’s ERDF-funded supply chain building initiative, Supply Lincolnshire.

For the latest dispatch of business news from across Lincolnshire delivered in your inbox every Friday, subscribe to the Lincolnshire Business magazine.