The employee-owned book production firm is renowned as the UK’s market leader in the provision of typesetting and pre-press services to the publishing world; Palimpsest has been responsible for the typography of some of Britain’s bestselling books such as Elton John’s autobiography, ‘Me’, Billy Connolly’s ‘Tall Tales and Wee Stories’, and Matt Haig’s ‘The Midnight Library’.

The firm has also contributed to the wizarding world of Harry Potter by designing and typesetting JK Rowling’s ‘Order of the Phoenix’ and a special edition of both ‘Fantastic Beasts’ screenplays for dyslexic readers.

It is hoped the rebrand, which was entirely driven by the employees in-house, will reflect a new direction for the firm as it seeks to expand the business in the coming months and continue to blossom under employee ownership.

Michelle Walker, Palimpsest branding coordinator, said: “We have been working on a rebrand plan for some time now and we are delighted to see it has taken shape the way we planned.

“All of the work has been carried out by our dedicated team in-house, from the logo design to the website restructuring. Each member of our 21 strong team has played an integral role in the planning process.

“With our improved designs it will mark a new chapter for Palimpsest as we continue to seek opportunities to expand the business into other areas in the publishing sector. We’re a UK leader in our market, working with the country’s leading publishers, and so we are excited to showcase our new look to all of our clients and customers.”

Palimpsest became employee-owned in 2018 with previous owners Craig and Ruth Morrison retiring from the business. Rather than sell to another private company; Craig and Ruth opted to transition Palimpsest into employee ownership with a view to secure employment for the staff.

The company’s transition into employee ownership has helped facilitate Palimpsest’s rebrand.

Andrew Dowell, employee director at Palimpsest, added: “Becoming employee-owned has given us a lot more scope to make the changes we think would be beneficial to the company, and has ultimately facilitated the rebrand.

“Craig and Ruth invested a great deal of trust in all of us at Palimpsest which we will forever be grateful for. It is with this trust that we felt responsible to accelerate a rebrand which has been in the pipeline for some time.”

The employee-owned company’s rebrand comes after it was revealed 100 businesses in Scotland had now adopted the ownership model, with many businesses following the advice of employee ownership specialist, Ownership Associates.

The Stirling-based company, founded by Carole Leslie, provides full support for businesses seeking to go through the employee-ownership – and has experienced year-on-year growth in enquiries.

Ms Leslie commented: “Having businesses like Palimpsest continuing to thrive under employee ownership is testament to the self-sustainability of the business model. It’s great to see an already successful company continue to flourish under the direction of dedicated employees.

“Palimpsest is one of many excellent examples of how successful employee ownership can be.”

Ownership Associates provides full support for a business seeking to go through the employee ownership journey.