UK equity investor Mobeus has initiated a debt and equity package to support the £11.3m buy-in management buy-out of Creative Graphics International.
The specialist graphics business has facilities in Bedford and South Africa and supplies graphics and regulatory labeling to Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen, as well as, being the dominant supplier of badging and graphics to the UK caravan market.
The firm also supplies branding solutions to Virgin Galactic, Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair providing both internal and external branding for their aircrafts including Virgin’s iconic flying lady.
A specialist in technical vinyl wraps, CGI covered the US bobsleighs with advanced ‘lighter than paint’ wrap during the Winter Olympics.
The deal was part agreed in Birmingham and is the second Midlands-advised deal that Mobeus has completed this year, following the MBO of Shropshire tech firm Entanet.
Part of the transaction includes the introduction of operating partner and serial automotive sector entrepreneur, Kevin Finn as executive chairman.
CGI owner Steven Perry said: “I have owned CGI for the last 20 years and it is clearly something very close to my heart.
“I am delighted that Peter has assembled such a hugely experienced board to take the business forward and I look forward to supporting the team in their endeavours.”
Investment director at Mobeus, Chris Price said: “From our first meeting with Peter, Kevin and I were convinced that we had found a fantastic UK success story.
“This was a complex deal involving a business split equally between the UK and South Africa and with a truly global customer base.
“CGI harnesses market leading design and manufacturing to supply branding solutions to customers for whom quality and performance is a must-have
“Supplying directly onto the line for the likes of Toyota and Ford as well as being trusted to wrap the exterior of airlines for the likes of Virgin reflects the way Peter has run the business.
“We look forward to supporting Peter and his team as they look to drive sales growth and widen CGI’s customer base both in the UK and overseas.”
CGI employs 43 staff at its Bedford headquarters and 185 in its Cape Town facilities, with group revenues in excess of £11m.
