The Bookseller.com

5th December 2008

B&T rebrands as Butler, Tanner & Dennis

17.07.08 Catherine Neilan

Book printer Butler & Tanner is to be relaunched as Butler, Tanner & Dennis, following its acquisition by publisher and poet Felix Dennis. Dennis is the sole owner of the company, which is due to begin trading on 1st August.

The firm will continue to trade from its premises in Frome, with 80 out of 287 of its former members of staff on site. Dennis will be chairman of the group, while Ian Leggett, current group finance director for Dennis Publishing, will assume the role of deputy chairman. Former Butler & Tanner director Kevin Sarney is to become managing director.

In an open letter to all previous employees of Butler & Tanner, Dennis said: "While we cannot re-employ all previous personnel of Butler & Tanner (or anything like that number at the present time) we intend offering employment to 80 former members of staff immediately. It is our hope that this number will rise substantially in the months to come."

But Dennis added he could make "no promises concerning trading prospects", although he pledged financial support, as well as key machinery and premises, and the prospect of future investment into the company.

"We strongly believe that book and corporate publishers in the UK will seize the chance to reduce the carbon footprint of their publications by working with Butler, Tanner & Dennis, rather than in Asia and other faraway places," Dennis added. "We look forward to providing the UK’s publishing industry with a quality colour printer based in the UK."

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