Mid-market investor sees 15% rise in value of Midlands portfolio

Andy Lyndon, Head of Midlands, LDC

Private equity investor LDC has seen revenue growth of 15% across its Midlands portfolio, latest figures show.

The investor, which has backed businesses such as NEC Group and Kee Safety, said the growth reflected the outstanding potential offered by the region’s mid-market sector.

The firm, which has a portfolio of 24 companies together responsible for revenues of £2.2bn and supporting more than 20,000 jobs across the region, has also encouraged business leaders to ‘think big’ in developing their future growth ambitions.

LDC in the Midlands, which has teams in Birmingham and Nottingham, has invested more than £320m over the last three years.

In 2016, investments included the £175m secondary buyout of parcel distribution firm CitySprint, in a similar field, the £17m MBO of Panther Logistics, and the MBO of TXM Plant, the UK’s largest supplier of specialist operated plant to the rail sector.

Other portfolio companies backed in the Midlands include IT services and software provider Centiq, holiday park operator Away Resorts and The Pallet Network, one of the UK’s leading palletised freight distribution networks.

Last year, LDC also exited several successful investments. These included the sale of consumer goods business, Original Additions, to US-based beauty and personal care company PDC Brands in April, and the £140m listing on the AIM market of lifestyle brand Joules, which raised gross proceeds of approximately £77.5m in May.

In the same month LDC completed the sale of Orion Media, the commercial radio group, to Bauer Media and in October, Node4, the IT solutions provider, went through a secondary management buyout backed by Bowmark Capital.

Nationally, LDC has pledged to invest £1.2bn of capital over the next three years to accelerate the growth of Britain’s mid-sized businesses, with the Midlands a major focus.

Andy Lyndon, Head of Midlands, LDC said: “Collectively, the management teams we’ve backed in recent years delivered an outstanding performance in 2016 despite a challenging economic backdrop. This reflects the ambition, calibre and determination of the leaders, and the quality of their businesses. The Midlands needs more companies to be bold and go for growth, in turn helping the regional economy continue to accelerate its growth.”

John Green, Head of East Midlands, LDC added: “It’s important that LDC, as a major investor in the region, ensures management teams know that the financial and strategic support is there to back them in their ambitions. Our goal for 2017 is to identify and partner with more management teams to help them think big, maximise their growth potential and build the market leading businesses of the future.”

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