Huddersfield Town's Dean Hoyle is hailed as '˜man with magic touch' as retailer plans flotation

HUDDERSFIELD Town chairman Dean Hoyle has been hailed as 'the man with the magic touch' after he played a leading role in the revival of a retailer which plans to make its stock market debut.
Dean Hoyle. Picture Tony Johnson.Dean Hoyle. Picture Tony Johnson.
Dean Hoyle. Picture Tony Johnson.

Dean Hoyle is the chairman of the value retailer The Works, which is set to list on the stock exchange to raise £65.2 million. Mr Hoyle has been credited with transforming the company’s fortunes since he joined the board three years ago.

The Works - which sells gifts, stationery and arts and crafts products - will list on the London Stock Exchange at a price of 160p per share, giving the company a market capitalisation of £100 million. The Works has more than 447 stores and concessions across the UK, having opened 134 new outlets over the last three years.

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Of the funding raised from the initial public offering (IPO), £28.5 million will go to the company, and £36.7 million to the selling shareholders, as well as the executives and senior management team. Most of the money going into the company will be used to pay down its debt. The Leeds-based private equity firm Endless, which owns around 9.8 per cent of the company, is the principal selling shareholder on the admission.

Endless will hold roughly 24.9 per cent of the issued share capital of The Works after the float.

Garry Wilson, the chairman of Endless said: “Dean Hoyle is the man with the magic touch. He’s such a talented individual. His reputation and track record made the IPO (initial public offering) possible.

“He’s such a charming man who inspires confidence in people.”

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Mr Wilson said Endless had decided to invest in The Works because “he always believed in the printed word”.

Kevin Keaney, chief executive of The Works, said: “Today represents a significant milestone for The Works and we’re extremely pleased with the level of interest we’ve received from investors in our business.

“They’ve seen what our customers see every day - a unique and exciting retail experience that combines value, quality and variety that’s available online and in-store.”

The Works expects public trading of its shares to start on July 19. The Yorkshire Post understands that Mr Hoyle will retain a 15 per cent stake in The Works.

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James Woolley and Adam Keasey at Endless supervised the exit for Endless. Walker Morris provided legal advice to Endless and the company, which was led by Richard Naish and Debbie Jackson.

Dean Hoyle founded The Card Factory, which became one of Britain’s biggest retail success stories.

Three years ago, he was appointed to the board of discount retailer, The Works, as chairman. He also become a significant shareholder, having made a sizable cash investment in the business.

It was the first major retail industry position that Mr Hoyle had taken since the sale of The Card Factory to Charterhouse Capital in 2010.

As founder of The Card Factory, Mr Hoyle took the business from a market stall to a company delivering profits of £50m in just 12 years. The company built up a store estate of 500 shops.