Filofax undergoes management buyout by CEO

Posted on 22 Apr 2013 by Tim Brown

THE maker of Filofax has been bought by its chief executive, Gordon Presly, who has teamed up with Harolde Savoy, a Canadian stationery entrepreneur, to buy Letts Filofax, which also publishes Letts diaries.

FilofaxThe pair, are buying Filofax, based in Dalkeith, near Edinburgh, from Phoenix Equity Partners.

According the The Times, the buyout firm, owner of the LK Bennett fashion chain, had backed a £50m buyout of the business seven years ago. The terms of the new deal have not been disclosed.

Although the Filofax is still closely associated with 1980s male professionals, the organisers have become increasingly popular with women in recent years. It is estimated that females buy three of every four Filofaxes sold in Britain.

Sales of the organisers and Letts diaries have held up despite the popularity of smartphones and tablets. The group generated sales of £53m in the year to January 2012, with pre-tax profits of £2.1m.