Founder steps back after MBO of £100m printing group

THE founder of York Mailing Group is stepping back after the company’s finance director led an MBO with the support of Pricoa Capital Group.
The group, set up by Chris Ingram in 1999, now has annual revenues of more than £100m, which has doubled in two years through acquisitions and organic growth. Mr Ingram, current managing director Mike Newbould and investors Business Growth Fund (BGF) will all retain minority stakes following the deal.
Mr Ingram, who will become chairman, said: “Over the years, Mike and I have been fortunate to have recruited an exceptionally strong management team who have been critical in helping us build York Mailing into a profitable business of scale.
“We are delighted to be supporting their ambition and energy to grow the business even further, all the while maintaining the standards of service that are instilled right across the organisation.”
Finance director Stephen Goodman, who joined the group in February 2014 from Britton Group, will become chief executive after an interim period when Mr Newbould will take on the role. The wider senior management team have also become shareholders in the business.
Based in Elvington, near York, the company is the largest supplier of printed products including flyers, media inserts and catalogues to UK retailers including Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Lidl.
BGF took a 20% stake after investing £10m in July 2013 – made up of £5m of share capital and a £5m loan –  which helped fund the acquisition of the Lettershop Group the following month.
Andy Gregory, regional director for the North at BGF said: “We believe there is even further growth potential in the business and as such are delighted to have been able to realise a gain whilst rolling-over some of our investment to support the new management structure.”
The deal was led for BGF by Richard Taylor, who also led the original investment. York Mailing Group was advised by Chris Stott and Jon Terry at KPMG (vendor financial due diligence), John Whiteman at CIL Management Consultants (vendor commercial due diligence), Giles Clegg at Lupton Fawcett Denison Till (legal, vendor), Jon Hustler at Clearwater International (corporate finance, buyer), Gavin Cummings at Browne Jacobson (legal, buyer), Richard Pulford and Ben Thompson at DC Advisory (corporate finance, vendor), Fletcher Adamowicz at Grant Thornton (tax). BGF were advised by Andrew Phillips and Catherine Hemsworth at Pinsent Masons.

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