Card Factory float values retailer at £766m

Greetings card retailer Card Factory made its market debut this morning, pricing its shares at 225p each.

The flotation valued the Yorkshire-based company at £766.6 million and raised £206.6m for shareholders including private equity firm Charterhouse, which will retain a 41.3 per cent stake.

Card Factory, which has more than 700 stores and focuses on the value and mid-market segments of the UK’s £3 billion-a-year greeting cards market, will receive about £90m of the float proceeds to allow it to pay down debt.

Chief executive Richard Hayes said: “Ours is a well-invested and cash generative business with a strong business model, creating an excellent platform for further profitable growth.

“We welcome our new shareholders, and our priority now is to execute our clearly defined growth strategy on their behalf.”