News
Cavendish advises on the sale of Card Connection
31 March 2008Cavendish Corporate Finance is pleased to have advised the shareholders of Card Connection Limited on the sale of the business to UK Greetings Limited, the UK subsidiary of American Greetings, the second largest greeting card
company in the world.
Card Connection is the UK's largest consignment-based greetings card business. The company operates through a network of franchisees and it is generally regarded as one of the best run franchise businesses in the country.
UK Greetings (UKG) is the largest direct to retail greeting card publisher in the UK and is known for the familiar brands Carlton, Forget me Not, Gibson, Camden Graphics, and Hanson White. It also has a substantial gift business, The Xpressions Gift Company. UKG supplies virtually all the major retailers in the UK, with its largest customers being Clinton Cards, Birthdays, Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda, Woolworths, WH Smiths, Martin McColl and Boots. In addition, UKG supplies around 4500 independent retailers.
Cavendish was appointed by the shareholders of Card Connection to manage the sales exercise and identify suitable purchasers that could deliver the right value and, at the same time, provide an excellent home for the Card Connection
business and the management team.
As part of a sales exercise, Cavendish approached UK Greetings who quickly emerged as the preferred bidder due to the strategic value they saw in adding a consignment-based operation and extensive franchise network to their core business model.
Card Connection is the second sale of a greetings card business completed by Cavendish in the last 18 months, having previously advised on the sale of the Greetings Direct Group to Flying Brands plc.
Simon Hulme, shareholder and Chairman of Card Connection commented: I was delighted with the way Cavendish added value through their tight management of the sale exercise.''
[Paul Herman], the Partner who led the deal at Cavendish, commented: We are delighted to have met both the financial and softer objectives of the shareholders. Identifying the right strategic acquirer in these circumstances is frequently the key to maximising shareholder value.''