LDC Manchester team completes four transactions in one month

Dale Alderson

The Manchester office of investor LDC has completed four transactions in a month as it continues to demonstrate its commitment to supporting ambitious business leaders across the North West.

The team has welcomed Ellesmere Port-based Rhino Products, Europe’s leading manufacturer of light commercial vehicle accessories, to its portfolio.

The partnership will see LDC support the management team’s ambitious buy and build strategy as well as continued international expansion.

The business has also completed three successful exits from its Manchester office.

First, the team exited workforce management software specialist Mitrefinch to Advanced following a four-year partnership that invested in technology to help transform the business into a market-leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) player.

Mitrefinch doubled its revenue to £24m and increased employee numbers by 64% between 2016 and 2020.

In late-October, LDC announced the exit of its investment in employment specialist Ellis Whittam to Marlowe.

The deal marked the end of a four-year partnership that saw the Cheshire-based business accelerate organic growth and cement its status as a leader in high-quality subscription-based compliance services.

Finally, LDC exited its minority stake in Giacom, the specialist cloud services marketplace, to Digital Wholesale Solutions.

LDC had been invested in Giacom since 2016, exiting and reinvesting in 2017 as minority shareholder.

The four transactions follow what has already been a busy year for LDC in Manchester, as the team continued to back the growth plans of its wider portfolio.

This includes leading marcomms agency MSQ Partners, which secured £6m of follow-on funding to support its £20.6m acquisition of the Be Heard Partnership in September, and the exit of Fishawack Health in April, following an ambitious buy and build strategy which saw the firm triple annual revenues and extend across North America.

Dale Alderson, head of the North West for LDC, said: “This year has been one of unprecedented challenge for North West businesses, and the work of our team is testament to our commitment to support the region’s ambitious business leaders.

“As an established member of the North West private equity community, we’ve been through ups and downs before and we know the importance of experience and flexibility. In uncertain times, management teams need long-term partnership to build scale and resilience, and that’s why we are here.”

2020 marks LDC’s 20th year in Manchester. In that time, it has backed more than 65 businesses, investing more than £325m of capital in the past five years alone.

Nationally, LDC is committed to investing £1.2bn in high-growth firms across the country over the next three years, with the North West remaining a core focus.

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