Aberdeen print firm XIC completes buyout as directors take full ownership

What's the deal? Murray Alexander and Jason Moir, long-serving directors at Aberdeen-based print specialist XIC, have secured 100% ownership of the company. The pair acquired the remaining 25% stake from founder Bill Fawcett, completing a buyout that began in 2018.

XIC operates from a 10,000 sq ft facility in Altens, employs 14 staff, and reports annual turnover of approximately £1.5M.

Why now? The deal is a natural next step. Alexander and Moir first bought 75% of the business in a 2018 management buyout, with Fawcett retaining a minority stake. Both directors have spent over three decades at the firm — Alexander joined straight from school at 16, and Moir followed years later. Full ownership formalises what was already a director-led operation.

"Bill came up from Newcastle and built the business from nothing," Alexander said. "We both worked our way through the ranks."

The signal: Founded in 1986 as Xpress Print and rebranded to XIC in 2006, the company has a history of early technology adoption — it was the first firm in Scotland to implement Apple Mac workstations in 1987. The completed buyout reflects a common succession pattern for founder-built SMEs: gradual ownership transfer to trusted operators who know the business inside out.

Read more: aberdeenbusinessnews.co.uk