An Attleborough printing company has entered a new era after it moved into employee ownership.

Colchester Print Group, which has 40 staff and is based on the Haverscroft Industrial Estate and also has an office in Bury St Edmunds, made the move after researching employee ownership with the help of the John Lewis Partnership and the Employee Ownership Association. It adopted an ownership model similar to John Lewis and it involved the creation of an employee ownership trust with a facility for staff to directly invest in the business.

The print group made the move to secure the future of the business, which has an annual turnover of £3.5m, and says it will give staff higher levels of job satisfaction and security. Philip Colchester, who founded the company and will stay on as chief executive, said: 'While printing in its present form is seen by some as declining market, we see it very much as evolving and there remains an exciting future.

'The move into employee ownership is a very good way of securing the business for generations to come.'