LDC-backed Hybrid celebrates international growth journey

Bristol-headquartered Hybrid and private equity partner LDC are marking a period of transformational growth for the digital media company.
Hybrid provides a full suite of digital marketing, data and insights services for the higher education sector, supporting universities with student recruitment, developing differentiated brands and providing insights and data analytics to help drive their marketing strategies. This includes campaign development, media planning and buying, content creation and data analytics.
LDC, the private equity investor which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, invested £13m in Hybrid in June 2021 to support CEO Chris Cammann and the management team’s ambitious growth strategy. With LDC’s support, Hybrid has increased revenues from £9m to over £45m between 2019 and early 2024 – driven in part by the business securing new multi-million pound contracts across the globe.
With offices in Bristol, Philadelphia, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur and Kathmandu, Hybrid supports over 400 faculties worldwide, including the University of Bristol, York St John University, Columbia University in New York and the Australian National University.
With LDC’s support, Hybrid has grown organically and through a series of strategic acquisitions. In June 2023, it acquired Prompt Marketing, another key player in the education marketing sector. The acquisition reinforced Hybrid’s expertise in creating impactful campaigns tailored to the education industry. Prompt’s founder, Marcella Collins, joined Hybrid’s senior leadership team to align resources and values to further drive innovative within the education landscape.
In April 2024, Hybrid acquired Crisp Digital – an AI-driven, full-stack development, hosting, and maintenance agency founded by Matthew Crisp, who brought with him a team of specialist developers to help bolster Hybrid’s ability to offer enhanced technical solutions.
Hybrid has also continued to invest significantly in innovation and new technology. It launched ‘Reeled’, a platform that integrates short-form video content into university websites, helping Hybrid to stay ahead of industry trends. In partnership with UCAS and The Guardian, it also introduced a real-time data feed during the UK university Clearing period, to supply critical updates to universities across the UK.
Chris Cammann, CEO at Hybrid, said: “The past few years have been transformative for the business, with LDC’s support allowing us to expand globally and firmly establish ourselves as market leaders. We’re looking forward to continuing to build our offering for clients.”
Dewi Hughes, partner and head of South West and Wales at LDC, said: “It’s a pleasure working with Chris and the team at Hybrid. The company’s growing presence across international markets is testament to their highly ambitious team, commitment to innovation and client service, and I have no doubt they will continue to go from strength to strength.”
Hybrid was praised for its significant growth trajectory at the recent BVCA Vision Awards, with the judges recognising the company’s rapid growth in addition to its trajectory for long term success. The business was also commended for its strong ESG principles, with the agency having recently signed up to a two-year net positive roadmap and demonstrating a commitment to diversity. Its workforce represents 22 nationalities and the majority of its management positions are held by women.
Commenting on the partnership between LDC and Hybrid, the BVCA judging panel said: “The partnership has strengthened Hybrid’s financial structure, expanded its international reach, and reinforced its ESG commitments, making it a standout leader in the higher education marketing sector.”