New Minuteman Press Printing Franchise Opens in Hove, England

HOVE, England, United Kingdom – Romi and Russell Pinsent are the new owners of Minuteman Press in Hove located at 186-188 Portland Rd. They bought the long-running independent print shop TJ’s Branding Solutions, which operated for 30 years, through Minuteman Press International’s conversion programme. Romi says, “We are so excited to carry the legacy of TJ’s Branding Solutions and expand our products and services through Minuteman Press to benefit our local business clients and community.”

TJ’s Branding Solutions laid a solid foundation for Romi and Russell as they look forward to continuing to build the business that was started by original owner Tony Jenner. Romi says, “The store that we have bought has predominantly been a sign writing store that already supports existing businesses and has a good customer base. The work done within the store already supports local businesses by assisting them to promote their own business by way of designing logos, shop fronts and vehicle livery.”

Romi explains how Minuteman Press in Hove will be expanding the centre’s capabilities, saying, “We are looking forward to providing more in-house offerings to our customers. Our Xerox digital machine will allow us to complete larger print jobs in-house. We intend to build long-lasting relationships with our existing customers so they come back and feel valued as we work hard to help them grow their business! Alongside direct marketing to grow the business, we believe positive experiences and word of mouth referrals will help us spread the word about Minuteman Press in Hove. We will do all we can to best serve our clients and support local businesses.”

On selling the business through Minuteman Press, Tony Jenner says, “Minuteman Press Regional Vice President Mark Jones approached me at a good time and asked me if I was interested in selling my business. I have been running TJ’s Branding Solutions for over 30 years and was looking at a chance of direction. I was looking to retire and enjoy what I have achieved and spend more time with family. This was a great opportunity to sell at a good price with no broker fees. What was there not to like? It was a smooth exchange and transfer that was done – I would recommend it.”

Journey to Minuteman Press

Romi and Russell are no strangers to owning their own business. Romi shares, “Before franchising, our background was and still is running care homes. It is an enjoyable business to run, supporting the more vulnerable people within society but it is riddled with legislation and we wanted to explore a new venture that was more creative and had an opportunity for growth. We wanted a change for us and a new business venture seemed the way forward.”

Why Minuteman Press? Romi answers, “We have over 40 years of business experience between us however we were cautious about moving into a new industry as our experience is only in our other business. We visited a franchise show with the intention of looking at a hospitality franchise but quickly realized that this wasn’t something we wanted to explore due to having to work evenings and weekends.”

She continues, “We met the Minuteman Press representatives at the franchise show in London who explained to us the way that Minuteman Press worked. We were immediately excited knowing there wasn’t a store in our area and we felt that with the support of the Minuteman team and buying into a global franchise, we would be as equipped as possible to move into a new industry and grow a print business.”

Researching & Buying the Business

Romi and Russell were also impressed by the consistency they saw in visiting several Minuteman Press locations both in the UK and during a visit to the USA. Romi says, “It was an easy decision to move forward with Minuteman Press. The information provided at the franchise show was the very start of things for us, we were then invited by Mark Jones to visit a number of stores within the UK which helped us to understand what we were buying into and how the shop might look. When speaking to the store owners, we could see that the businesses were working well. We were impressed by the consistency across the stores, we were also lucky enough to visit some stores in Florida and felt the same way. Even in another country, the Minuteman Press brand was consistent and store owners reported the same things, that you can be successful if you follow the system and dedicate time to the business.”

Throughout the process, Romi and Russell liked the approach that Minuteman Press took in speaking with them. Romi says, “There was no pressure from anyone at Minuteman Press to buy the franchise and there was so much time afforded to us to see stores, ask questions, and talk through any concerns that we felt that the decision we were making was well-thought-out and a good business decision.”

Romi adds, “The intention at the start was to purchase a new store and grow it from the ground up however once we had decided on the franchise, Mark Jones undertook some market research and found an existing independent print shop in TJ’s Branding Solutions where the owner wanted to retire. As a result, we began the process of purchasing the store.”

“The purchase of the store was delayed in part by the pandemic however, throughout the whole process, Mark Jones supported us in liaising with the seller, solicitors, and accountants to make the process as easy as possible. There was never a question that couldn’t be answered! We secured the store on the 3rd June 2021. Russell and I are both excited to work with the Minuteman Press franchise support team and to grow the business in the local area. Russ has lived in the city since he was 5-years-old and I have lived here all my life. We are proud to call Brighton and Hove our home, we love where we live and want to offer the best service to all local businesses here!” -Romi Pinsent, co-owner, Minuteman Press, Hove (formerly TJ’s Branding Solutions)

Franchise Training and Support

As Romi and Russell work to build their own legacy with Minuteman Press in Hove, Romi is excited to have the continued support and backing of Minuteman Press International. She says, “As previously mentioned, the ongoing local support from Mark Jones has been unwavering and this continued with the training we received from Mike Jutt, Pete Taglino, and Tom Carnesi through the Minuteman Press training school that we attended via Zoom. We really appreciated the expertise and knowledge that they shared with us. It was at training school that we really began to understand the Minuteman Press system and how to run our printing business, which is why we signed up with a franchise in the first place.”

She continues, “We then moved into the store for onsite setup and met our staff. We were supported for a number of weeks by the local Minuteman Press team of Mark Jones, Dave Watson and Sam Fernandes. The first few weeks were hectic when we were operating and implementing the Minuteman Press way of working. Throughout the setup, the support from the UK team was second to none. They were there for us at every stage to support us with the re-branding.”

Romi concludes, “Overall, As a local business ourselves, Minuteman Press in Hove is excited to work with other local businesses. We look forward to seeing where this incredible journey takes us as we build and grow together.”

Interested and want to know more about Minuteman Press?

The Minuteman Press profile outlines all aspects of their franchise opportunity and allows you to contact them for further information or to ask a question.

View franchise profile