M&A Zing (S2EP16) - Vinyl Roll-Up or Romantic Relic? Breaking Down a £9.7m Turnover Listing

Season 2, Episode 16,   Oct 23, 11:23 AM

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We look into a £9.7m-turnover vinyl and merch listing claiming ~£1.83m EBITDA. Outsourced production, EOT complexity, print-on-demand disruption, lender appetite, and how you’d structure a carve-out that actually cash flows. Who should buy it, what to diligence, and why we still give it two cautious thumbs up.

This week’s Buy Side Breakdown dissects a vinyl and merchandise producer listing touting ~£9.7m revenue and ~£1.83m adj. EBITDA, “fully relocatable,” and “outsourced everything.” We unpack the reality behind the broker gloss: market wobble vs long-term demand, EOT complications, asset-purchase logic, and whether this is a platform play or a bolt-on for a fan-commerce roll-up.

What you’ll learn:

How to read “outsourced” manufacturing claims without getting rinsed

EOTs, carve-outs and HMRC tripwires a buyer should sanity-check

The real moat here: distribution, design and label relationships

Print-on-demand vinyl: margin killer or new product rail?

Lender appetite for cash-flow deals with carve-out friction

DD checklist: contracts, territories, exclusivity, run economics

Deal structures to share downside and keep upside alive


🕒 Timestamps


[00:13] Welcome back to The M&A Zing (Buyside Breakdown)
[00:40] Why this listing: vinyl, merch, big claims
[01:14] Headline numbers: £9.7m revenue, ~£1.83m adj. EBITDA
[02:00] Who might it be and why a carve-out now
[03:16] Has the vinyl “renaissance” peaked? Market wobble chat
[05:56] Group turnover dip and what it could signal
[06:43] EOT sale last year: tax, control and sale complexity
[08:36] Why this likely needs an asset purchase
[10:12] “Fully outsourced” production: what are you actually buying?
[11:57] Limited editions, picture discs and inventory risk
[12:46] Low stock on hand: how demand planning works
[13:50] “Relocatable” claims vs London label relationships
[15:12] Secret sauce: distribution, design and the D2C shopfront
[16:41] 25k-person list vs 15k runs: B2B vs D2C reality
[18:59] Broker language vs operating reality: questions to ask
[19:39] Tech shift: print-on-demand vinyl and margins
[23:18] Lender view: cash-flow lending, carve-out headwinds
[25:07] No hard assets; pricing the goodwill and risk
[26:26] Deal structure ideas: deferred, earn-out, vendor support
[27:19] Due-diligence musts: contracts, territories, exclusivity
[28:30] Where is the gross margin actually earned?
[29:49] Org chart: strong team… and a heavy cost base
[30:15] Adjusted EBITDA vs filed operating profit
[31:04] Sales team and why contracts probably exist
[32:22] Who should buy this: bolt-on vs platform
[33:55] Building a fan-commerce flywheel (segments, communities)
[35:13] Focus and rationalise: chasing 50%+ blended GM
[36:48] Leverage, runway and right-sizing for today’s market
[38:39] Carve-out funds offering “soft landings”
[39:20] Verdicts: two thumbs up, with caveats
[40:40] Wrap, shout-outs and keep on crunching

Links:

Listing: rightbiz.co.uk/buy_business/for_sale/518833_relocatable.html

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