Simon Meehan, centre manager, and Harry Latham, production manager, both longstanding employees, took up the reins from Mitchell on 1 November.

Both Meehan and Latham were already working at the franchise when Mitchell acquired it in 2018.

“Four and a half years ago, when I acquired the business, Simon and Harry were already key to its success. I came in to drive forward the business, and put in place strategies that could futureproof the company,” said Mitchell.

“Harry and Simon were both eager to learn and had an excellent foundation of knowledge of the business, its operation and the wider market.

“From the start, I knew my role wasn’t going to be for the long-term and that, with their expertise, and the support of the Fastsigns UK network, I could eventually leave the centre in good hands.”

Meehan, with three decades’ experience in the signage industry, began at Fastsigns Huddersfield 10 years ago. Starting in sales and installations, he is well known to the company’s customer base.

Latham, a digital signage specialist, joined the franchise shortly before Meehan, and works closely with Meehan to print and install projects for education, healthcare, local government, construction and retail sector customers.

The Huddersfield franchise is a pivotal point in the wider Fastsigns network, taking on trade work from many of the other 25 franchises for wide-format work, produced on Roland DG and Epson roll-to-roll machines.

Meehan told Printweek that he and Latham were thrilled to be taking on the business.

The plan for the next 12 months, according to Meehan, is to keep the business going forward with steady growth.

“We’re really excited to get on with the work, and the staff are all excited to be working with us,” he said.

“We’re just all looking forward to getting at it.”