Systems developer Naviga Global has picked up long-established UK vendor Press Computer Systems in a deal which includes five years’ software service.

Regional publisher National World bought PCS as part of the GBP£11.5 million (A$22.12 million) Midland News Association deal last September that included the Wolverhampton Express & Star and its associated newspapers.

Now it has completed the sale to US-headquartered Naviga – formerly Newscycle – for GBP£3.5 million in a deal which includes a five-year contract for software services. This is expected to see the cost of Naviga’s services covered by the sale proceeds for the next four years.

National World chairman David Montgomery described Naviga as “the best place to develop the PCS business. “Newspaper production technology is not our core expertise and so we believe PCS is being transferred into good hands with Naviga, which is best placed to develop that business while continuing to serve National World’s modernisation and automation needs for the long term.”

Founded in 1973, PCS’s origins – and its name – stem from an era in which press computer systems were literally that: systems on presses, initially handling press controls such as insetting and registration. It moved to new offices in Telford, Shropshire, last year following the National World acquisition.

Apart from MNA – active in the UK’s ‘Black Country’ and Shropshire – its customers include the National Farmers Union, Newsquest, Highland News & Media, and multi-faceted Scottish media company DC Thomson.