AN acquisition strategy which has seen York Mailing become the largest print supplier to the UK retail sector is continuing with another takeover by the firm.

The Elvington based group, which specialises in the production of retail flyers, media inserts and catalogues, has completed the acquisition of Go Direct Marketing Ltd (GDM).

The deal will see York Mailing acquire GDM's 10 Otley based staff and a client portfolio which includes Pure Collection, Cox & Cox, Wrap, Thompson & Morgan, The Handpicked Collection, French Connection & Brook Taverner.

The deal follows a £10 million investment in York Mailing by the Business Growth Fund in 2013, which also contributed towards the Group acquiring Leeds-based WA Smith, which traded as The Lettershop Group, for £6.55 million last August. York Mailing had previously bought Pindar Scarborough out of administration in 2011.

Chris Ingram, chief executive of York Mailing Group, said: "I am delighted with the addition of this business to the group portfolio and believe this adds another dimension to our customer offering."

York Mailing, which generates revenues of £110 million per annum, now employs 530 staff across its four sites.

The acquisition of GDM, which was founded in 1999 and specialises in mail order, retail marketing strategy and data analysis, was part of a bid by York Mailing to enable it to develop a new data driven analytics division, strengthening the group’s offering to its customers across The Lettershop Group, Pindar and York Mailing.

In turn, the acquisition will enable GDM to expand its core business to a wider client base.

Adrian Scott, director at Go Direct Marketing Limited, said: "I am thrilled with the acquisition by York Mailing Group and really looking forward to a new and exciting phase in the development of Go Direct Marketing.

"Being part of the largest and most innovative print provider to the retail sector in the UK, offers a real opportunity for us to strengthen and enhance our offering within the YM Group environment."

The investment by the Business Growth Fund provided the financial means for targeted acquisitions in the sector alongside the purchase of new state of the art printing presses, which will provide additional volume capacity and efficiency improvements to the group.

Richard Taylor, investment director at the Business Growth Fund, said: "Chris and the team successfully acquired and integrated The Lettershop Group towards the end of last year and we were keen to see the business continue this expansion with another value enhancing acquisition.

"These are strong businesses that are being brought under the wider York Mailing Group umbrella and will only add to the company’s already strong product and service offering."

Giles Clegg and Joss Richardson of Lupton Fawcett Denison Till acted for the York Mailing group on the acquisition.

York Mailing’s customers include some of theUK’s largest and best-known supermarket and retail brands including Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Lidl, The White Company, Cotton Traders and Boden.