MBO at Signs Express

Signs Express has marked the end of its silver anniversary year in franchising with a management buy-out designed to drive growth of the business following record network expansion and sales.

The MBO was led by Jonathan Bean, who has worked for the franchise for over 13 years, most recently as finance director. He took on the role of managing director on1 January. Craig Brown, who has been a joint shareholder and managing director since 2007 and who worked for the company since its inception in 1989, has left the business. The directors are now: chairman Carl Fisher, of CF Consulting; network development director Aaron Davis, who joined the business a year ago from Accenture; marketing director Ed Guichard, who recently joined the business from Norwich City Football Club; and specialist consultants IT director Mark Poole, and commercial director Mark Harvey. Bean said of the move: “2017 has been a remarkable year for the business. We’ve proudly celebrated our 25 years in franchising and marked that milestone to help us achieve incredible growth in our network. Consequently, our trading has been exceptionally strong with our third successive record year. All of this adds up to a fitting tribute to Craig’s tenure as managing director and both I, and the board team, are really excited about building upon that legacy.” The MBO follows a two-year plan which has seen huge investment in infrastructure and support services for the Signs Express network, led by the Norwich based franchise support team. The business’s 2020 vision, which will see the brand reach 80 production centres, is said to on-track with nine new franchisees on board in 2017 and new branches planned throughout the next year. On his departure from the business, Brown said, “I genuinely believe I will be leaving the business in much better shape than when I took the role of managing director and that it is poised for a really exciting future.” Signs Express was established in Norwich in 1989 and is now the UK’s largest sign franchise, with 66 franchises across the country.