The North-West News Group (NWNG) – which publishes a number of local newspapers in Tyrone, Fermanagh and Donegal including our very own Ulster Herald – is set to expand its digital printing and creative services in 2021 with the acquisition of Kaizen Print Ltd.
The Donegal News publisher announced this week that it has acquired Belfast-based Kaizen Print, a leading business in the world of digital printing, branding, graphic design, motion graphics and web development.
NWNG which operates from its head office in John Street, Omagh, celebrates its 120th year in business next year. The company’s newspapers attracts almost 150,000 readers each week and has over 500,000 followers across its website and social media platforms.
As well as the Donegal News, the company also publishes the Tyrone Herald, Dungannon Herald, Strabane Chronicle, Fermanagh Herald and Ulster Herald as well as Gaelic Life and North-West Brides. It also operates numerous digital platforms and currently employs 78 staff across its sites in Letterkenny, Strabane, Enniskillen and Omagh.
The addition of Kaizen Print to the NWNG portfolio including Kaizen Brand Evolution and Kaizen Weddings, will allow it to offer enhanced digital and creative design services to its client base across the north-west, complementing the advertising platforms which already exists for local businesses and readers through its newspaper and digital outlets.
Kaizen, which employs 30 staff at its Jennymount Court headquarters in Belfast, is owned and managed by brothers Connor and Martin McAuley who have successfully established the company over the past eleven years working with blue-chip clients in the corporate business and sporting sectors across the island of Ireland.
The brothers will remain with the business and will continue to manage the day to day activities of Kaizen alongside senior management from NWNG.
“The acquisition of Kaizen is an exciting new chapter in the history of NWNG,” explained Managing Director Dominic McClements. “The combination of the two businesses will mean that we are in a strong position to offer a one-stop solution for the marketing, printing and digital needs of local businesses while continuing to focus on producing quality news and editorial content for local communities,” he continued.
Company Chairman Austin Currie said that the deal would strengthen NWNG’s ability to support local businesses as they aim to recover from a year of difficulties caused by Covid restrictions. “Our newspapers have been embedded in local communities for over a century and now, with the addition of Kaizen, we will be in an even stronger position to support local businesses with all their advertising and marketing requirements in 2021 and beyond,” he added.
Connor and Martin McAuley described the acquisition by NWNG as a momentous occasion for Kaizen management, staff and customers.
“Our goal has always been to create the strongest business possible and we are immensely excited around the opportunities that lie ahead and the strength this partnership will create for both businesses.
NWNG’s legal and financial advisors in the project included Arthur Cox, led by Lynsey Mallon and Cavanagh Kelly, led by Michael Drumm. HNH, led by Craig Holmes, acted as lead corporate finance advisors in the deal. The acquisiton was also supported by AIB.
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