Advised by Cowgills’ corporate finance team and Brabners LLP, Manchester-based agency, CTI Digital, has completed a Management Buy Out (MBO) from its umbrella company, Paperhat Group. After four months of hard work internal management has self-funded and bought back the 54% share that previous investors, Paperhat, purchased in 2015. The 75-strong agency will continue to serve its wide range of clients, but will now operate as an entirely independent company.
CTI was advised by Sam Davies and Ben Barlow of Cowgills who provided corporate finance advice and Sam Mabon, Ruth Hargreves and Robert Turner of Brabners who provided legal advice. Commenting on the deal Sam Davies of Cowgills said: “CTI is an excellent business that has consistently grown, led by a superb management team. The deal we delivered for CTI was complicated as the sellers went through an administration mid-process.
The deal leveraged the full breadth of services at Cowgills including our corporate finance, tax and business recovery and I am delighted they have selected Cowgill’s as their ongoing partner for audit and compliance.”
Nick Rhind, CEO at CTI Digital, comments: “In our fifteenth year of trading, we are confident in making decisions defined by our experience and expertise. We pride ourselves on original thinking and flexible working practices; these are values that we can best adhere to as an independent agency. With ambitious plans for growth, we are excited to be in total control of the future of the agency.”
Joining Paperhat Group in 2015, CTI Digital embraced the opportunity to operate on a larger scale, as a member of the global marketing services provider. Reaching beyond its modest Manchester roots, CTI expanded its staff, gained notable new clients and achieved respected accreditations. With continually growing aspirations, CTI now looks to further diversify its service offering and strengthen its brand as an independent agency.
David Beswick, Managing Director at CTI Digital, comments: “CTI is built on continual investment in talented individuals, advancing technology and our clients’ visions; we achieve this by investing in ourselves. In order to maximise efficiency, to perform with agility, and to be in a position to accept exciting challenges, we are proud to be an independent business once again.”
To be owned by internal senior management ensures that CTI is led by those with a vested interest in maintaining the agency’s long-standing culture. The management team at CTI Digital have assured their staff, clients and partners that it will be ‘business as usual’, as the agency embarks confidently on a journey of future progression.
Disclaimer
The information was correct at time of publishing but may now be out of date.
