Tony Lorriman and three colleagues continue legacy of Sheffield printer
Tony Lorriman, managing director and existing shareholder of Loxleys Print, together with three colleagues, have finalised a management buyout of the long-established specialist greeting card print business, which was founded in 1854.
With a collective 72 years’ experience working within Loxleys and the greeting card industry, Tony is joined as co-owners of the business by operations director Gary Anderson, production director Gary McCrorie, and Paul Brooks, pre-production director.
The MBO, which was clinched on Thursday, 2 June, heralds a new era for Loxleys. The company became part of The Sherwood Group in 2008, headed up by brothers Jeremy and Richard Bacon, who are now exiting the business as directors and major shareholders. However, Jeremy will remain within Loxleys in a consultancy role to the new board.
Both Richard and Jeremy will continue to be involved in the running of The Sherwood Group, which is completely unaffected by the MBO, and the strategic alliance between the two companies will continue.
“It has been said many times in the 167-year history of Loxleys that the owners of the business are purely the current custodians,” said Tony, who highlighted that the MBO is part of “long-term succession planning” for the business.
He added: “In my 25th year of service to the company, I am both delighted and honoured to have been given the opportunity to lead this management buyout and become a custodian of Loxleys – it is now my responsibility to look after the company and ensure it’s passed onto the next generation of custodians in good health at some point in the future.”
Tony assured PG Buzz it is very much “business as usual” at Loxleys, which produces over 100 million greeting cards every year, working with 40 publishers.
When asked how he celebrated the signing of the deal, the ever-modest Tony admitted: “We splashed out by going out for fish and chips, washed down with a bottle of Coke!”
Loxleys will be exhibiting at PG Live tomorrow and Wednesday, 7-8 June, at London’s Business Design Centre) on Stand 439. You can still register for the show by clicking here.
Top: Loxleys md Tony Lorriman, who led the MBO, on stage at The Henries
