Advising on Ardenton Capital and Budget Greeting Cards Limited (BGC)

Founded in 1984, BGC now operates seven cash and carry warehouses in the UK and Ireland. The business sells greetings cards and gift wrap, as well as other stationery and celebratory products to SME businesses.

BGC employs 180 staff and last financial year reported sales of £36m. Ardenton will work with BGC’s management team to unlock further geographic expansion and to develop an e-commerce platform which will help drive additional growth.

The business has been trading well for more than 30 years, so it was crucial for us that we found an investor who believed in the long-term growth of the company. The Mazars team have provided invaluable advice throughout this transaction including identifying Ardenton as an ideal strategic investor who operate a long-term investment model focused on developing robust sustainable growth – which is aligned closely with our own aspirations.

Paul Lavery MD & Founding Shareholder

Dave Hilton, Dave Baggott and Sachin Parmer provided M&A advice with Andrew Westhead, Rich Dillea and Jon Capper providing tax advice to the shareholders. Dave Easdown and Dave Hayes provided legal advice to the vendors and the transaction also included funding from Jane Hartley at Yorkshire Bank.

We are very pleased that our team has been able to ensure a smooth and well executed transaction for the vendors. Mazars has a long history of supporting family owned businesses and this transaction further demonstrates our ability to create value for those clients. BGC has a fantastic management team and the deal with Ardenton will allow the business to implement its ambitious expansion plan

Dave Hilton Managing Partner Manchester – M&A