Private equity firm ready to invest £200m in businesses across the region
Private equity firm LDC invested £437m last year in 23 new deals, a record total for the business.
In an annual summary of its performance, LDC – which typically invests between £5million and £100m in a single transaction – said every one of its seven UK regional teams invested last year.
The firm is committed to investing £1.2bn in ambitious high-growth firms over the next three years (2019-2021), which includes investing £200m in businesses in the North West over the next 12 months.
LDC invested more than £25m to support Bolton-headquartered Love Energy Savings, a business energy comparison service, in a secondary buyout of the business.
The partnership is helping Love Energy Savings’ management team to further accelerate organic growth opportunities.
The team also realised its investment in the iconic Yorkshire crisp brand, Seabrook, in a trade sale to leading snack brand Calbee (UK) Ltd, following a partnership where the business entered a number of new international markets.
In December, the team exited its partnership with procurement specialist Inprova, following a successful buy and build strategy in which the firm acquired five complementary businesses to establish itself as a leading energy procurement consultancy.
In addition, LDC helped grow North West businesses both locally and internationally through six bolt-on acquisitions across its portfolio.
It supported Eque2’s acquisition of Birmingham-headquartered JNC Construction Software, Fishawack’s acquisitions of US-based Blue Latitude Health and brand communications agency Healthcircle, and Lakelovers’ acquisitions of two luxury holiday cottage businesses including Heart of the Lakes.
On exits across the UK, LDC said it had worked closely with management teams throughout 2018 to take advantage of favourable selling conditions with 26 divestments.
Total proceeds generated reached £1bn with an average money multiple of 2.7 times
LDC said it expects a challenging period across the market as uncertainty continues, but LDC its appetite to invest remained as strong as ever.
Jonathan Bell, Head of LDC in the North West, said: “Businesses in the North West are renowned for their grit and determination to succeed, no matter the circumstances. The ambition and drive from the leaders of these firms is why we stand ready to support them with funding, expertise and flexibility.
“As a firm, LDC is committed to backing ambition. We have £1.2billion to invest across the UK over the next three years and it is my role to ensure local businesses with a clear growth strategy and desire to succeed can benefit from the support and investment of a private equity partner.”
Alongside its investment and exit performance, LDC also provided a national summary of its portfolio impact from 2018, confirming that companies it sold during 2018 had increased their enterprise value by an average of 138% during its partnership, grown sales by 79% and profit by 45%.
Together, these 26 companies added a total of 2,784 roles to their teams, and with LDC’s support expanded into more than 25 countries and developed 50 new products or services.
