Huddersfield Town chairman Dean Hoyle on Card Factory sale speculation

Nov 11 2009 by Sam Casey, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

It is thought Hoyle has stepped back from the running of the business.

According to reports, Richard Hayes, Card Factory managing director, said KPMG were retained as advisers “to explore options open to the shareholders of this business.”

Asked about a possible sale, he said: “We have not even started the process. All we are doing at the moment is understanding our options.”

Hoyle joined the Town board in April 2008 and took over as chairman and majority shareholder in June this year from Ken Davy.

He and his wife are majority shareholders in the Card Factory.

As well as Mr Hayes – a former Royal Bank of Scotland corporate banker – the company’s management team includes group finance director Darren Bryant, formerly the corporate finance partner for Yorkshire at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, and logistics director Christopher Beck, who used to work at Grant Thornton in Leeds.

The chairman is Keith Pacey who is the executive chairman of Maplin Electronics.

The most recent published figures for Sportswift, which trades as the Card Factory, put turnover for the seven months to the end of January 2008 at £90m with a profit of £17m.

The company has yet to publish its annual figures for the year ending January 2009, but it is expected to show considerable growth and profitability.

Some estimates suggest turnover and profits could have doubled.

UK consumers spent £1.7bn and bought 1.5bn cards last year.