SPS bosses seal £7m buyout from 4imprint
THE management team of a Blackpool promotional good business are flying solo after a £7.25m buyout from listed company 4imprint Group.
The deal for SPS was funded by Maven Capital Partners in Manchester, while corporate partner Roger Hart of law firm Addleshaw Goddard in the city advised the management team.
The £17m turnover business has been acquired by a new business, Ensco 1024 Limited, which is controlled by the SPS senior management led by chief executive Philip Morgan, finance director Sharon Brownley, sales and marketing director Diane Anderton and operations director Richard Wildsmith.
SPS is a supplier of promotional products to distributors in the UK and Europe for onward sale to their customers. Founded 20 years ago, it has manufacturing and sourcing capability together with an extensive range of printing and branding facilities.
Philip Morgan, chief executive at SPS commented: “We have a professional, dedicated and innovative team who are passionate about the success of the company, and we are delighted to have found a supportive financial partner in Maven Capital Partners.
“With their financial backing and experience we believe that we can achieve our aspirations for the business over the next five years. We are confident that SPS is in a fantastic position for continued growth in the promotional merchandise market, with ongoing innovation and development across the whole business, and we look forward to building on the foundations we have laid over the last few years.”
Ryan Bevington, investment director at Maven, said: “The team at SPS have delivered strong growth in a fairly benign market over recent years, and they have continued to invest in new product development and manufacturing ability over that period.
“We were very impressed with the management team and their growth strategy for the business, and we are confident that they will continue to drive the business forward successfully.”
For the 12 months ended 29 December 2012, SPS’ operating profit was £800,000 and for the six months ended 29 June 2013 it was £0.4m. At 29 June 2013 the unaudited net assets of SPS were £9.9m and the unaudited gross assets were £12.3m.
4imprint said the sale is consistent with its strategy of focusing its resources on continued organic growth of its Direct Marketing business.
Maven was advised by a team from law firm Gateley, while City firm Slaughter & May represented 4imprint.
Debt finance for the transaction was provided by PNC Business Credit. Financial due diligence was provided by Dow Schofield Watts, which introduced the deal to Maven.
