Page Bros Norwich buys Art Angels greeting cards business

Art Angels, established by Judith Bennett-Rees and Chris Cordingly, has been producing cards for many of the UK’s top galleries and museums since its founding in 1993.

Clients over the years have included the Victoria and Albert museum in London, as well as the Sainsbury Centre and Castle Museum in Norwich.

The Art Angels team at its Norwich office (Image: Art Angels)

But following a successful - and busy - three decades running the business, last year the husband-wife duo decided it was time to hand over the reins to “new owners with youth on their side”.

After almost 12 months of searching for the right successor, the team has finally struck a deal with Norwich-based publisher Page Bros, which has been in the city for an incredible 277 years. 

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Mr Cordingly said: “It was very important to keep the business as local as possible, so selling on to Page Bros was ideal.

“We wanted to keep the continuity of the business, with the same premises, staff, and artists we work with.

“This deal will allow those things to continue, but with the opportunity for expansion and growth which we didn’t quite have the energy to commit to at this stage in the journey.”

Page Bros, a printing company based in Mile Cross Lane, Norwich that was founded 270 years ago. From their archive. Photo : Steve Adams (Image: Steve Adams)

The new owners said that while the company’s St George's Street office would remain open, and all existing staff retained, it would move its warehousing operations from Stowmarket to Mile Cross Lane in Norwich.

Alex Tuya, CEO of Page Bros, added: “The range of capabilities we have in the group, from website and e-commerce management down to print manufacturing, storage and fulfilment, will equip Art Angels with added agility and scalability, while achieving significant synergies in our operations.