Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity has made two and a half times its money back on its investment in Card Warehouse, a greetings card retailer, a sign that the mid-market is the busiest sector of the UK buy-out scene.

The private equity firm owned by Aberdeen Asset Managers sold its majority stake in Card Warehouse to Cardfair, a rival business, for £45m (€63m). The firm, which was advised by KPMG Corporate Finance, generated an above-average, 22% annualised return for its investors on the deal. It had bought into the company in 1998 when it backed its £12.5m management buy-out.